About
keptlocal is a growing toolkit of privacy-first PDF and image tools that run entirely inside your browser. No uploads. No accounts. No file ever leaves your device.
What "kept local" actually means
When you use a typical online PDF tool, your file travels over the network to a server you have never seen, gets processed by code you cannot audit, and comes back. The privacy policy says they delete it within a few hours. You take their word for it.
keptlocal is built differently. The tools run on your device using JavaScript libraries and the browser's built-in Canvas API — your browser does the work. Your file enters memory, gets transformed, and the result downloads. No part of it touches a network.
This is not a marketing claim. It is an architectural fact you can verify yourself. Open your browser's Network tab (F12) while using any tool. You will see the initial page load, and then no further activity. Zero uploads.
Who built this
keptlocal is built and maintained by Hiten Mahalwar. I have spent fifteen years in Healthcare IT — building data pipelines, integrating Azure AI Document Intelligence, and working with the kind of sensitive documents (clinical notes, insurance records, patient data) that should never casually leave a controlled environment.
The site started after one too many conversations where a friend or colleague asked "is it safe to upload my tax forms to that PDF site?" — and the honest answer was "probably, but you genuinely cannot know." That answer was not good enough.
Tools that respect your data should not be a niche product. They should be the default. keptlocal is my attempt to make that true for everyday file tasks.
What is available today
keptlocal currently has 12 tools across two categories, all fully client-side:
- Merge PDF — combine multiple PDFs into one
- Split PDF — extract pages or split all pages
- PDF to JPG — render PDF pages as images
- JPG to PDF — combine images into a PDF
- Rotate PDF — fix page orientation
- Reorder PDF Pages — drag-to-reorder thumbnails
- Watermark PDF — stamp diagonal text on every page
- PDF Info Viewer — page count, size, metadata
- Compress Image — shrink JPG, PNG, WebP
- Resize Image — dimensions, percentage, or longest side
- Convert Image — HEIC, JPG, PNG, WebP, AVIF
- Crop Image — free-form or fixed-ratio crop
The blog covers practical guides on PDF workflows, image formats, browser security, and the privacy risks of server-based file tools.
How keptlocal stays free
The tools cost very little to run — your browser does the heavy lifting, and the rest is static files served from a CDN. A small number of non-intrusive ads on the pages around the tools cover hosting and domain costs. There are no ads inside the tool itself.
keptlocal does not:
- Track you across sites
- Sell your data (there is none to sell — the tools do not receive your files)
- Require accounts or email signups
- Apply file size limits to push you toward a paid plan
- Add watermarks to processed files
See the privacy policy for specifics.
What is coming next
The immediate roadmap is more tools: bulk image operations, additional PDF manipulation tools, and a small set of AI-powered document tools (PDF summarisation, table extraction, invoice parsing) built on Azure AI Document Intelligence. The AI tools will require optional cloud processing and will be clearly marked as such, with explicit privacy disclosures — a deliberate departure from the fully local model, offered only where the capability genuinely requires it.
Found a bug, want a specific tool, or have feedback? Use the contact page.