An iLovePDF alternative with no upload

Why look for an alternative at all

iLovePDF and Smallpdf are both established European companies with published security practices. iLovePDF says it deletes files within two hours (privacy policy); Smallpdf says it deletes files after one hour when you are logged in (privacy notice). Both say they hold ISO/IEC 27001 certification. We cover each in detail in Is iLovePDF safe? and Is Smallpdf safe?

Their websites still work the same basic way: your file is uploaded, processed on their servers and sent back. For a Form 16, a bank statement for a loan, or an Aadhaar or PAN scan, some people would rather the file never leave their device. Some employers also forbid putting client documents on outside services. That is the reason to look elsewhere, not any problem with either company.

iLovePDF alternative that works locally in the browser

Browsers can now run serious software inside a web page using JavaScript and WebAssembly. A tool built this way reads your file into the tab’s memory, does the work on your processor and hands you the result as a download.

InTheTab works like this. Its PDF tools are built on open-source libraries (pdf-lib, Mozilla’s PDF.js and qpdf, listed on the licenses page), and each page sends a Content Security Policy that lets the page connect only to InTheTab itself and Google Analytics. You can open the page, run a tool on a test file and confirm in the Network tab that no request carries your document; our guide on checking whether a site uploads your files shows how.

The PDF tools cover the jobs people most often use iLovePDF for:

• Compress PDF, for upload limits on job, exam and bank portals
• Merge PDF and Split PDF, for example joining six months of statements
• Organize PDF to reorder, rotate or delete pages
• Protect PDF and Unlock PDF, such as removing the password from a bank e-statement you are allowed to open
• Redact PDF, Sign PDF, Watermark PDF and page numbers
• JPG to PDF and PDF to JPG

The limits are real. InTheTab has no PDF to Word, Excel or PowerPoint conversion and no OCR for PDFs (its image to text tool reads photos and screenshots, not PDFs). Because your own device does the work, a very large scanned PDF on an older phone can be slow or run out of memory. It has no accounts, no cloud storage and no e-signature workflow for sending a document to someone else. It uses Google Analytics to count visits and which tool was used; it never receives your files or what you type into a tool (see the privacy policy).

iLovePDF alternative: offline and open source

If you’d rather install something, two free open-source projects are worth knowing:

• PDFsam Basic is a free, open-source (AGPL) desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux. It merges, splits, rotates, mixes, extracts and inserts pages. Its site says everything runs locally and files are never uploaded.
• Stirling PDF describes itself as open-core and offers more than 50 tools, including OCR, conversion, redaction and compression. You run it yourself as a desktop app or on your own server, for example with Docker, so documents don’t go to an outside service. It suits someone comfortable installing software, or an office that wants one shared tool.

For PDF to Word, Microsoft Word can open a PDF and convert a copy into an editable document. Microsoft’s Edit a PDF guide says this works best for documents that are mostly text, and that lines and pages may break differently from the original.

Smallpdf alternative

The same options apply. For compressing, merging, splitting, protecting and signing, an in-browser tool does the job without an upload. For OCR or Word conversion, use a desktop app.

Both companies also sell desktop apps. iLovePDF says its desktop app for Windows and Mac processes files locally on your computer; its terms note that some online tools inside the app still use its servers. Smallpdf offers a Windows desktop app it describes as offline PDF tools. If you already pay for one of them, using the desktop app for confidential files is a simple change.

iLovePDF vs Smallpdf vs InTheTab

Sources: iLovePDF’s privacy policy and security page; Smallpdf’s privacy notice and security page.

Which one to use

• Compress, merge or split an ID, statement or salary slip: an in-browser tool, so the file stays on your device.
• Merge and split often, offline: PDFsam Basic.
• OCR or PDF to Word on a confidential file: a desktop app, such as Word, Stirling PDF or the iLovePDF and Smallpdf desktop apps.
• A public brochure or a college notice: any of them. The privacy difference matters less when the file isn’t sensitive.