Editing sensitive documents without handing them over
A specific document you don't want to just upload
Some documents are different from a random photo or a public PDF: a payslip, an ID scan, a signed contract. You want to remove a page, merge it with another file, or sign it — but not upload it to some online tool you don't know. How server-side and local processing differ technically, and how to verify that yourself, is covered in our article on local processing basics. This one is about the practical part: which tool for which case.
Five use cases for local processing
Remove individual pages from a document: if you only want to share one page of a multi-page bank statement, remove the rest with Delete PDF Pages — the file stays in your browser throughout.
Merge several scans into one document: if you have a contract as several individual scans, combine them with Merge PDF into one continuous file, locally, in the order you choose.
Mark a draft as a draft: before sending a contract version out for review, you can visibly mark it "DRAFT" with PDF watermark — prevents an unfinished version from accidentally being treated as final.
Remove metadata before sharing a document: many people don't realize a PDF file can carry invisible metadata like author or creation date — relevant for application documents sent to multiple places. Remove PDF Metadata strips supported standard fields locally in the browser. Important: this isn't forensic anonymization, the visible content stays unchanged, and embedded content may still carry clues — it removes the common metadata fields, nothing more, nothing less.
Sign without printing and scanning: for a contract you need to sign, Sign PDF inserts a drawn or uploaded signature locally at the position you choose. This is a visible signature for everyday use — not a qualified electronic signature under eIDAS, which would be required for documents with high legal-certainty requirements.
How you can be sure the file really stays local
For all 5 tools mentioned here, you can verify this yourself technically: open your browser's developer tools Network tab, process the file, see no upload request — exactly the check our article on local processing basics explains in detail.