Is PDF24 safe?
FilePresto publishes this page and makes its own file tools, which work without uploading your file. The facts below come only from PDF24's own published pages, linked beside each fact, as they read on 28th September 2026. We have tried to be fair. If anything is out of date or wrong, email [email protected] and we will correct it.
PDF24's online tools upload your file to its servers in the European Union, and its privacy policy says files are usually deleted one hour after upload. PDF24 also offers a program you install, PDF24 Creator, which it says works offline without uploading anything.
Based on its own published information, PDF24 describes a service that processes files on its servers and deletes them after a stated time. For routine files, some people may be comfortable with that. For confidential, personal, client or staff documents, a tool that does not upload the file at all is the lower-exposure option, because the file stays on your device.
What happens to your file
| Is your file uploaded? | Yes, for the online tools. Not for PDF24 Creator, the program you install, which its help page says works offline, so files stay on your computer. Source: Privacy policy · Help page |
|---|---|
| How long is it kept? | Uploaded files and results are usually deleted one hour after uploading or creating the results. Its privacy policy says backups of these files are generally not made. Source: Privacy policy |
| Can you delete it sooner? | Yes. Its help page says files can also be removed manually straight away. Source: Help page |
| Where is it processed? | All servers that process files are within the European Union. Source: Privacy policy |
| Can its staff see it? | Its privacy policy says that during that hour it does not look at the files and does not evaluate them. Source: Privacy policy |
| Security certification | None named on the pages we checked. |
| Encryption | Uploads and downloads are protected by SSL. Source: Privacy policy |
| Who runs it? | geek software GmbH, Berlin, Germany. Source: Legal notice |
PDF24's English privacy policy says it is an automatic translation and that the German version is the legally binding one.
What this means in practice
For an everyday file, such as a school worksheet, a menu or a holiday photo, the main question is simply whether you are comfortable with a copy sitting on PDF24's servers for the time its pages give: usually one hour, for the online tools. For a passport scan, a signed contract, a payslip, a medical letter or anything about another person, that copy matters more. If you are handling other people's personal information at work, your employer may need to know which companies receive it and where.
If you would rather not upload the file at all
- FilePresto (ours) runs in your web browser and never uploads the file; the page locks itself so it cannot send anything. For the jobs people most often use PDF24 for: Compress PDF, Merge PDF, Split PDF, Protect PDF. Free for up to 5 files at a time.
- PDF24 Creator is a free program you install on your computer; PDF24 says it works offline, so files stay on your computer (PDF24 help page).
- Stirling PDF is an open-core PDF platform that an organisation can run on its own servers, or use as a desktop app (project page). It suits IT teams that want PDF tools inside their own network.
Other converters
We have written the same kind of guide for other popular services: CloudConvert · iLovePDF · FreeConvert · Smallpdf · Convertio · Zamzar. Or read the overview: are online file converters safe?
About this page
How we wrote it: every fact in the tables comes from the company's own website, and each is linked so you can read it yourself. We do not use forum posts, reviews or reports from elsewhere. Where a company's own pages describe the same thing differently, we show both. Pages checked on 28th September 2026; we aim to check them again every three months. Companies change their policies, so if a decision matters, read the linked page itself. Corrections: [email protected].