CreatorValet
Useful strength: Browser-only processing with no account, analytics script, third-party embed, or file upload.
Server advantage: None. This is the reference row; its trade-off is browser memory, codec, and API limits.
25 services · measured August 11, 2026
The Converter Privacy Index
What can a visitor verify before uploading a file? This register measures the HTML each service sends for its homepage and reads one public data-handling source. It does not rate safety, infer intent, or upload a test file.
Measured results
The same test, including us
19 of 25 cited sources produced a short, file-specific retention excerpt.
| Service | Static third-party hosts | File-retention excerpt | Measured |
|---|---|---|---|
| CreatorValet This site | 0 None found by this method |
It is not uploaded, not queued, not scanned, and not stored.Source |
|
| CloudConvert | 0 None found by this method |
Your files are deleted immediately and irreversible from our serversSource |
|
| FreeConvert |
3
Show hosts
|
Files uploaded to FreeConvert are automatically and permanently deleted after 8 hours.Source |
|
| iLovePDF |
1
Show hosts
|
within TWO (2) HOURS of being processed on ILOVEPDF's servers.The cited sentence excludes iLoveSign, whose separate terms apply. Source |
|
| Smallpdf |
2
Show hosts
|
delete User Files within one hour unless you save them to your file storage.This excerpt describes access through a user account; saved files follow different rules. Source |
|
| ezgif |
4
Show hosts
|
Files you upload are stored on our servers up to 1 hourSource |
|
| Convertio |
6
Show hosts
|
We delete input files and all temporary files instantly after any file conversion.Source |
|
| Adobe Acrobat Online | 0 None found by this method | No machine-readable file-retention sentence with a time expression found. Source | |
| PDF24 Tools | 0 None found by this method |
usually deleted one hour after uploading or creating the results.Source |
|
| Sejda | 0 None found by this method |
will be permanently deleted after upload or processing respectively.Source |
|
| PDF Candy |
1
Show hosts
|
are kept on our servers for as long as 2 hours.Source |
|
| TinyWow |
7
Show hosts
|
we delete the file 1-hour after the processing of that file is complete.Source |
|
| Online-Convert | 0 None found by this method |
At the latest, the files are physically deleted after 72 hours, no backups are […]Source |
|
| Zamzar |
3
Show hosts
|
for no longer than 7 days following receipt.This excerpt is the policy limit for submitted files and outputs without an account. Source |
|
| Clideo |
3
Show hosts
|
No machine-readable file-retention sentence with a time expression found. Source | |
| VEED |
4
Show hosts
|
No machine-readable file-retention sentence with a time expression found. Source | |
| Kapwing |
2
Show hosts
|
No machine-readable file-retention sentence with a time expression found. Source | |
| Img2Go |
5
Show hosts
|
At the latest, the files are physically deleted after 72 hours, no backups are […]Source |
|
| Compress2Go | 0 None found by this method |
At the latest, the files are physically deleted after 72 hours, no backups are […]Source |
|
| XConvert |
4
Show hosts
|
No machine-readable file-retention sentence with a time expression found. Source | |
| AnyConv |
15
Show hosts
|
automatically deleted from our servers within a short period (usually within 1 hour).Source |
|
| CoolUtils |
6
Show hosts
|
Both the file You upload and the converted result are deleted automaticallySource |
|
| Online2PDF | 0 None found by this method |
Uploaded files are immediately and automatically deleted right after the conversion.Source |
|
| Soda PDF |
4
Show hosts
|
No machine-readable file-retention sentence with a time expression found. Source | |
| PDF2Go | 0 None found by this method |
At the latest, the files are physically deleted after 72 hours, no backups are […]Source |
Capabilities matter
What the host count does not tell you
A server architecture is a capability choice, not evidence of bad behavior.
CloudConvert
Useful strength: A broad format catalog, a job-based API, and a dated privacy-policy change log.
Server advantage: Server jobs can handle formats and files beyond a browser tab’s codecs and memory.
FreeConvert
Useful strength: Detailed codec and compression controls, broad format support, and a readable policy.
Server advantage: Server CPU and GPU jobs can process long, high-resolution media and large files.
iLovePDF
Useful strength: A polished suite for chained PDF tasks, with apps, integrations, OCR, and signing.
Server advantage: Accounts and servers enable synchronized history, signing workflows, OCR, and automation.
Smallpdf
Useful strength: A polished PDF workflow with clear policy summaries, integrations, OCR, and signing.
Server advantage: Cloud storage enables history, sharing, synchronization, signing, and office-file conversion.
ezgif
Useful strength: A fast, direct GIF workflow with no required account and a concise privacy policy.
Server advantage: Server-side chains can carry large clips and image sequences between editing steps.
Convertio
Useful strength: Broad conversion coverage, cloud imports, an API, and multilingual OCR.
Server advantage: Servers enable OCR, cloud-drive imports, history, and jobs beyond browser memory.
Adobe Acrobat Online
Useful strength: An extensive PDF ecosystem with editing, sharing, signing, storage, and maintained documentation.
Server advantage: Cloud accounts support persistent documents, collaboration, signing, and cross-device access.
PDF24 Tools
Useful strength: A broad PDF toolkit with a separate desktop application for many offline workflows.
Server advantage: Server and desktop processing support OCR and document conversions beyond browser APIs.
Sejda
Useful strength: A coherent PDF workflow with both web and desktop products.
Server advantage: Server and desktop products support OCR, document editing, and larger recurring jobs.
PDF Candy
Useful strength: A large, consistent PDF toolkit with a Windows desktop application.
Server advantage: Server and desktop processing enable OCR, office conversion, and richer PDF editing.
TinyWow
Useful strength: A broad catalog spanning conversion, PDF, image, video, writing, and AI utilities.
Server advantage: Servers enable generative AI, remote fetching, and compute-heavy media processing.
Online-Convert
Useful strength: Long-standing specialist format coverage across documents, media, archives, and e-books.
Server advantage: Server codecs, queues, remote imports, and an API cover jobs browser APIs cannot.
Zamzar
Useful strength: Broad legacy-format coverage, a simple flow, an API, and useful format documentation.
Server advantage: Servers support uncommon proprietary formats, queued jobs, an API, and completion notifications.
Clideo
Useful strength: Focused media utilities alongside a fuller video editor, projects, and captions.
Server advantage: Cloud projects and rendering support longer edits, reusable assets, and cross-device work.
VEED
Useful strength: A full collaborative video-production environment with recording, captions, templates, and AI.
Server advantage: Cloud storage and rendering enable team projects, hosted media, captions, and AI features.
Kapwing
Useful strength: A collaborative editor with workspaces, brand assets, captions, templates, and publishing.
Server advantage: Accounts and cloud rendering enable persistent team assets, review, collaboration, and AI editing.
Img2Go
Useful strength: Focused image conversion, compression, editing, upscaling, generation, and cloud imports.
Server advantage: Servers enable cloud imports, AI image features, and jobs beyond browser memory.
Compress2Go
Useful strength: A clear compression-focused workflow across documents, images, video, and archives.
Server advantage: Server compressors support office files, video, archives, and cloud or remote inputs.
XConvert
Useful strength: Straightforward batch utilities for media, images, PDFs, archives, and compression.
Server advantage: Server batches support large media, specialist codecs, and broader compression operations.
AnyConv
Useful strength: A simple flow with broad document, media, archive, font, CAD, and 3D coverage.
Server advantage: Server toolchains can support proprietary, CAD, font, archive, and 3D formats.
CoolUtils
Useful strength: Online tools paired with mature desktop batch converters and automation options.
Server advantage: Desktop and server products support watched folders, CLI automation, batches, and legacy formats.
Online2PDF
Useful strength: A compact workflow combining PDF conversion, merge, page, protection, and layout controls.
Server advantage: Servers support multi-file office conversion and combined PDF operations.
Soda PDF
Useful strength: Online and desktop PDF conversion with editing, OCR, signing, forms, and sharing.
Server advantage: Accounts and cloud services enable OCR, signatures, forms, storage, and cross-device work.
PDF2Go
Useful strength: A single PDF catalog for conversion, repair, OCR, editing, compression, and protection.
Server advantage: Servers enable OCR, repair, office conversion, cloud imports, and larger PDF jobs.
Change log
A baseline that can move
Policy text is hashed after navigation and markup are removed. A later run can therefore flag a source that changed without republishing its text.
- Initial baseline published with 25 services measured by the same script.
How to cite the index
Cite the service, the measured value, the date, and the limitation together. Link to this page or the source row. Do not turn “none found by this method” into “none exist.”
CreatorValet, “The Converter Privacy Index,” measured August 11, 2026.