Is iLovePDF safe for confidential documents?

Everything below is taken from iLovePDF’s own published pages, as of October 2026. Policies change, so follow the links and check the current version before you decide.

Is iLovePDF safe to use?

iLovePDF is run by ILOVEPDF, S.L., a company registered in Barcelona, Spain, according to its privacy policy (last revised 19 February 2026). Being based in the EU means it falls under the GDPR, and its security page says it is GDPR compliant.

Here is what it publishes about your files:

• Deletion. The privacy policy says iLovePDF will delete your files within two hours of processing them on its servers. Its terms add that files stay only as long as the download link is available. The security page also lets you delete files yourself from the download screen.
• Signed documents are the exception. The security page says signed documents are kept for up to 5 years for legal reasons. This applies to its signing product, iLoveSign, which has its own terms.
• Encryption. The security page says it uses HTTPS and encryption to protect data in transit and at rest.
• Certification. The same page says iLovePDF holds ISO/IEC 27001 certification, an international standard for how a company manages information security, and links to the certificate.
• Use of content. The privacy policy says iLovePDF will not access, analyse, review or index your files beyond what the service needs, and that it does not use your content to train its own or third-party AI models.
• Where files are processed. The privacy policy says it processes personal data within the European Economic Area as a general rule, but for users outside the EEA it may process data in regions closer to them for performance. Its pricing page lists “regional file processing” as a Premium feature.

That is a solid set of commitments, and more than many smaller converters publish. We did not find any reliable report of an iLovePDF data breach.

Is iLovePDF safe for confidential documents?

This is where the way the service works matters more than the policy. When you use iLovePDF in a browser, your file is uploaded, processed on iLovePDF’s servers and sent back to you. For up to two hours a copy sits on a computer you can’t see. The deletion promise is a policy you have to trust, because nothing on your side can confirm it.

For most people that trade-off is fine for a menu card or a college notice. It deserves more thought for:

• Aadhaar and PAN card scans
• bank statements and cancelled cheques for a loan or KYC
• Form 16 and salary slips
• signed agreements, offer letters and medical reports

If a copy of one of these leaks, you can’t take it back. Whether the risk is acceptable depends on the document and on your employer’s rules; some companies don’t allow staff to put client files on any outside service.

Two other things are worth knowing. The free web version shows ads (the pricing page lists an “ad-free experience” as a Premium feature). And iLovePDF also makes a desktop app for Windows and Mac that it says processes files locally on your computer. Its terms say files handled by the desktop app stay on your device and iLovePDF can’t access them, though some online tools inside the app still use its servers. If you already pay for iLovePDF, the desktop app is the safer way to handle confidential files.

iLovePDF compared with an in-browser tool

InTheTab takes a different approach for the tools it offers. The work happens inside your browser tab with JavaScript and WebAssembly, so there is no upload for a server to keep or delete.

InTheTab has real limits. It can’t turn a PDF into an editable Word file and has no OCR for PDFs. A 200-page scanned PDF on an older phone can be slow or run out of memory. The site uses Google Analytics to count visits and which tool was used; it never receives your files, file names or what you type. The privacy policy lists exactly what it collects.

How to check for yourself

You don’t have to trust either site’s claims. Open your browser’s developer tools, watch the Network tab while you use a tool, and look for a request that carries your file. On an upload-based service you will see it; on an in-browser tool you won’t. Our guide on checking whether a site uploads your files walks through it step by step. Use a harmless test file, not your real statement.

For other common jobs: merge PDFs to join salary slips into one file, redact a PDF to hide account numbers before you share a statement, and add a password before you email it.