Written by the PrivatePDF team
PDF guides that respect your documents
Everything we know about merging, compressing, converting, signing, and OCR-ing PDFs — with the privacy story told straight. Every guide links to a free browser-local tool you can use immediately.
How to Merge PDF Files for Free (Without Uploading Them)
Step-by-step guide to merging PDF files in 2026. Combine documents into one PDF for free, entirely in your browser, with no uploads, accounts, or watermarks.
Read the guideHow to Compress a PDF Without Losing Quality
The honest way to shrink PDF file size: when visual compression is right, when structure-preserving optimization wins, and how to preview quality before you commit.
7 min readIs It Safe to Use Online PDF Tools? What Really Happens to Your Files
Most online PDF tools upload your entire document to a server. Here is what that means for your privacy, the real risks, and how browser-local tools changed the model.
8 min readHow to Convert PDF to Word Without Uploading Your Document
Convert selectable PDF text into an editable Word document entirely in your browser. No upload, no account, no conversion server — plus honest limits of PDF→DOCX.
6 min readHEIC to JPG: Convert iPhone Photos Free (No Software Needed)
Convert iPhone HEIC/HEIF photos to JPG, PNG, or PDF directly in your browser. Batch conversion, quality control, and live previews — without installing anything.
5 min readHow to OCR a PDF and Make Scans Searchable for Free
Run OCR on scanned PDFs entirely in your browser: recognize text in 20+ languages, review confidence, and embed an invisible searchable text layer — no server involved.
7 min readHow to Sign a PDF Without Printing or Scanning
Add a visible signature to any PDF in your browser: type, draw, or upload it, drag it into position, and download. Plus what an electronic signature is legally.
6 min readHow to Split a PDF or Extract Pages (Free, Private)
Five ways to split a PDF: visual cut markers, custom ranges, fixed chunks, by target size, or every page — plus how to extract selected pages into a new PDF. All local.
6 min readWhat Is a Flattened PDF (and When You Need One)
Flattening turns filled form fields and annotations into permanent page content. Here's what changes, when to flatten before sending, and how to do it locally.
5 min readHow to Crop a PDF (Remove Margins, Trim Pages)
Crop PDF pages to remove margins, borders, or headers — with a live frame preview. Works on selected pages or the whole document, entirely in your browser.
5 min readAVIF Files Explained: What They Are and How to Convert Them Free
AVIF images are everywhere in 2026 but many apps still can't open them. What AVIF is, why sites use it, and how to convert AVIF to JPG, PNG, or PDF privately.
6 min readHow to Convert SVG to PNG (Without Losing Quality)
The right way to rasterize SVG files to PNG: why export size matters, how to avoid blurry icons, and a free converter that never uploads your vectors.
5 min readICO to PNG: How to Extract Windows Icons and Favicons
ICO files are icon containers, not images. Here's how they work, how to pull the full-size PNG out of one, and why browser-local extraction beats online converters.
4 min readTXT to PDF: Turn Plain Text into Clean, Paginated PDFs
Convert .txt files or pasted text into polished PDFs with margins, page size, and font controls — entirely in your browser with a live preview.
4 min readHow to Add Page Numbers to a PDF (Free, With Live Preview)
The complete guide to PDF page numbers: formats, positions, facing-page layouts, skipping covers, and a free tool that previews every number before you commit.
5 min read