Compared honestly
Looking for an iLovePDF alternative that never uploads your file?
Filozy is a free PDF toolkit that processes documents inside your browser instead of on a server. This page sets that architecture beside the upload-based services most people know — iLovePDF, Smallpdf and Adobe Acrobat online — and says plainly where each is the better choice.
The one difference that matters
An upload-based PDF service receives your document, processes it remotely, and returns a result. Its privacy policy describes retention and other processing. Filozy's live local tools process files on your device without a server copy. If you choose a connected workflow, a temporary copy stays in your browser until the next tool claims it; the privacy policy explains its expiry and deletion controls.
Side by side
| Question | Filozy | Upload-based services |
|---|---|---|
| Where the PDF is processed | In your browser, on your device | On the service’s servers, after upload |
| What the service can see | Nothing from the document — the receipt reports 0 bytes sent | The whole file, for as long as its policy keeps it |
| Retention | No server copy; optional workflow copies expire locally | Depends on the service, account settings and published retention policy |
| Account | Never | Optional for basic use; needed for saved files, higher limits and paid features |
| Price and quotas | Free with no imposed daily quota; device capacity still applies | Plans and quotas vary; check the provider’s current terms |
| Connection needed | Needed to load each tool and its engines, fonts or OCR language files; document processing is local | Server-backed operations need a connection |
| Certified digital signatures | No — visible signatures only | Yes, on some services and plans |
| Native mobile and desktop apps | No — the browser is the app | Yes |
| Very large scans and heavy OCR | Limited by your device’s memory | Limited by plan, run on their hardware |
The right-hand column summarises the upload model as the services themselves describe it in their published policies: iLovePDF security, Smallpdf privacy, Adobe Document Cloud FAQ. Plans and limits change; check each service for current terms.
Tool-by-tool comparisons: iLovePDF · Smallpdf · Adobe Acrobat online.
How to verify it yourself
- Open any Filozy tool, choose a file, and run the job.
- Read the completion receipt: it lists the job duration and document bytes sent: 0.
- For a stronger check, open your browser’s developer tools on the Network tab before choosing the file. The only requests are the site’s own scripts, fonts and engine files — never the document.
When the upload-based service is the better choice
- Certified signatures. Signing so that tampering is detectable needs a timestamp authority and a revocation check, which are network services. Filozy offers visible signatures only, and says so on the tool.
- Team workspaces and cloud storage. Filozy stores nothing, which is the point — and also means it cannot be your shared document library.
- Enormous files. Your device’s memory is the ceiling. A server with more of it will finish a 2 GB scan that a phone cannot.
- Native apps. There is no Filozy app to install; a current browser is the application.
Questions people ask
Is Filozy a free alternative to iLovePDF or Smallpdf?
Yes for the everyday jobs: merging, splitting, compressing, converting Office files, signing, redacting, OCR and password protection are all free, without an account or a daily limit. The difference is architectural: those services upload your PDF to their servers to work on it, while Filozy does the work inside your browser and never receives the file.
Does Filozy upload my PDF at all?
No. The document is read into browser memory, a Web Worker performs the operation on your device, and the result is saved locally. Every finished job shows a receipt with the number of document bytes sent, which is zero. You can confirm it in your browser’s network inspector.
When is an upload-based service the better choice?
Compare specialist providers when you need certificate-backed digital signatures, shared cloud workspaces or processing capacity beyond your browser. A dedicated desktop application may also handle larger files locally. Check the specific service and plan rather than assuming every online tool offers these features.
Can I use Filozy offline?
Once a tool page has loaded and the document engine has been fetched for the job, the operation itself needs no connection. The site is not an installable offline app yet, so the first load of each session still requires internet access.
How many tools does Filozy have?
39 tools are live today across organizing, converting, editing and securing PDFs, and each one runs in the browser. One planned feature, rendering a public web page to PDF, will run on a server because a browser cannot fetch another site, and it involves no file of yours.