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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Files & privacy

Section titled “Files & privacy”

Is PDFLean safe to use with confidential documents?

Section titled “Is PDFLean safe to use with confidential documents?”

Yes — for the tools labeled Local Processing, the safety is structural, not a promise: your file is processed inside your browser tab and never transmitted anywhere, so there is no server-side copy that can leak. The few server-assisted tools state that openly, transport over TLS 1.3, store results encrypted, and delete them on the retention schedule below. Nothing you process is ever used for ads. For the full model, see Privacy & Retention Model.

Are my documents uploaded to external servers?

Section titled “Are my documents uploaded to external servers?”

Only when you use a tool whose badge says Cloud. Everyday tools — merging, splitting, rotating, compressing, converting, watermarking, redacting, OCR — run entirely in your browser. Cloud tools are limited to jobs that genuinely need a server, such as PAdES digital signing, PDF/A validation, and live webpage capture. The free/credit boundary for every tool family is on Free vs Paid on PDFLean.

How long does PDFLean keep my files?

Section titled “How long does PDFLean keep my files?”

Cloud files are kept for 24 hours after processing and then deleted automatically — the same window for every account and plan. Task records (metadata only) are kept up to 7 days and deletable instantly. Browser tools never upload anything, so there is nothing to keep. Full details: How Long Are My Files Kept?.

Is my file content used to train AI models?

Section titled “Is my file content used to train AI models?”

No. File content is never used to train or tune models, in any processing mode. The AI-assisted tools (document Q&A, contract extraction) send only the matched passages or extracted text to the model provider to answer your specific question — never the whole file where a local path exists.

Pricing & plans

Section titled “Pricing & plans”

Which tools are free and which use credits?

Section titled “Which tools are free and which use credits?”

All browser tools are free with no account — that covers the majority of PDFLean’s tools. Cloud tools use your plan’s quota because they run on encrypted servers. The family-by-family breakdown, with every cloud tool named, is on Free vs Paid on PDFLean.

Do I need an account to use the local tools?

Section titled “Do I need an account to use the local tools?”

No. Every tool labeled Local Processing works the moment you open the page — drop a file, run it, download the result. Closing the tab clears everything. An account is only needed for cloud jobs, team workspaces, and keeping your file history in one place.

What does a paid plan unlock?

Section titled “What does a paid plan unlock?”

Capacity, not access: bigger cloud files, more concurrent cloud jobs, priority queuing, team-shared quota, and AI credits for the AI-powered tools. Browser tools stay free for everyone, paid or not. Current plan amounts and quotas are on Pricing.

Refunds & cancellation

Section titled “Refunds & cancellation”

What is the refund policy?

Section titled “What is the refund policy?”

Four situations, each self-serve from your account: a first subscription purchase is fully refundable within 14 days; renewal charges within 72 hours; one-time purchases within 7 days if unused; and unused prepaid API balance within 30 days of topping up. Each account can use self-serve refunds once per 12-month period. The binding terms are in the refund policy.

Can I cancel my subscription at any time?

Section titled “Can I cancel my subscription at any time?”

Yes — cancellation is one click in your account’s billing panel, with no retention hoops, and keeps working until the end of the period you already paid for. See the cancellation policy for the details.

Do you provide VAT or Tax ID invoices?

Section titled “Do you provide VAT or Tax ID invoices?”

Taxes are calculated at checkout and a compliant invoice is provided; eligible plans support registering a company VAT / Tax ID. For invoicing commitments, see the billing promise.

Account & support

Section titled “Account & support”

How do I delete my cloud files and task records?

Section titled “How do I delete my cloud files and task records?”

Any time, without waiting: your account’s file history lists every cloud result with its remaining retention time, with one-click deletion for both the file and its record. Cloud files are deleted automatically at the end of their window even if you do nothing — see How Long Are My Files Kept?.

How do I contact technical support or enterprise sales?

Section titled “How do I contact technical support or enterprise sales?”

Via our support center — Pro inquiries are handled with priority. Enterprise questions (volume, DPA, custom terms) go to the same channel and are routed to the team that handles them.

Which browsers are supported?

Section titled “Which browsers are supported?”

Chrome and Edge from the last two years give full support; Firefox from the last two years covers nearly everything; Safari on macOS covers the common tools. On mobile, iOS Safari and Android Chrome handle the everyday jobs. The complete matrix, including mobile notes, is on Browser Compatibility.

Section titled “Related reading”