This is a nice UI for end users, however it seems to be a seems wrapper on top of mutool, which is distributed as AGPL. If you want to process PDF locally, legally and safely you should use their CLI instead.
A free, unlimited online PDF converter with Privacy focus
31–40 of 48 posts
Re: A free, unlimited online PDF converter with Privacy focus
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
If your terms of use are not one page of Loren ipsum, I'm not investing in your startup:)
Haha, I totally get it! My website is still under heavy development, but I’m actively working on improving things. Expect some awesome updates in the next few days—stay tuned! Thanks for the feedback! I’m racing to roll out those features in the next few days—promise! And don’t worry, I’ll keep the Terms of Use far from any “Lorem ipsum” nonsense. Wouldn’t want to lose you as an investor!
Did chatgpt write this response?
Re: A free, unlimited online PDF converter with Privacy focus
#33This just seems like a way to collect data by tricking non-technical people into thinking that uploading your file to a server could ever be private.
Indeed. https://quicklypdf.com/privacy-policy
It wouldn't be private even if the privacy policy had some boilerplate. Outside of narrowly defined e2e cases, nothing is private once you give it to someone.
Re: A free, unlimited online PDF converter with Privacy focus
#34This is a nice UI for end users, however it seems to be a seems wrapper on top of mutool, which is distributed as AGPL. If you want to process PDF locally, legally and safely you should use their CLI instead.
How did you figure that out? Couldn't it be Poppler as well?
Re: A free, unlimited online PDF converter with Privacy focus
#35Who are the owners of this site, which is soliciting users to upload their (often) sensitive PDF documents? (And why is it 100% free?) In what jurisdiction is it domiciled? Is it subject to the GDPR?
The Terms & Conditions are a Lorem Ipsum placeholder; the "Contact" and "About" pages are blank. There's no signaling anywhere that invites us to trust the data controllers, at a level higher than an anonymous phishing email. The HN account is blank too and exists solely to push this site onto the front page. That's a thing that's against this forum's rules, if there was any doubt.
Re: A free, unlimited online PDF converter with Privacy focus
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
What's the business model here? I'm assuming there's at least a marginal cost. As somebody who enjoys providing the world with free tools, I'm always curious how others handle the situation. Enshittification is real and comes for us all.
Right now, it’s all covered out of pocket. Long-term, I’m considering optional premium features or very minimal ads, but I’m determined to avoid the usual “enshittification” pitfalls. My goal is to keep the core service free and transparent while staying sustainable in the long run.
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Re: A free, unlimited online PDF converter with Privacy focus
#37Who are the owners of this site, which is soliciting users to upload their (often) sensitive PDF documents? (And why is it 100% free?) In what jurisdiction is it domiciled? Is it subject to the GDPR? The Terms & Conditions are a Lorem Ipsum placeholder; the "Contact" and "About" pages are blank. There's no signaling anywhere that invites us to trust the data controllers, at a level higher than an anonymous phishing e…
It tries to load Google Tag Manager without having a privacy policy when the client is in the EU so it's probably not GDPR compliant.
Re: A free, unlimited online PDF converter with Privacy focus
#38This is a nice UI for end users, however it seems to be a seems wrapper on top of mutool, which is distributed as AGPL. If you want to process PDF locally, legally and safely you should use their CLI instead.
How did you figure that out? Couldn't it be Poppler as well?
I read the output header, and see the Artifex (mutools / gs team) headers
Re: A free, unlimited online PDF converter with Privacy focus
#39This whole thread reads like two chatgpt bots talking to each other. HN needs a flag for obvious LLM content.
Re: A free, unlimited online PDF converter with Privacy focus
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
I haven't tried it yet, but what advantage does this have over pandoc?
Pandoc is awesome for converting text-based formats and markup files, but from my knowledge it doesn’t cover some of the more specialized PDF operations (like merging, splitting, rotating pages, etc.) or handling complex office formats with embedded elements. My tool aims to provide a quick, browser-based way to handle all those PDF tasks—no installation or command-line usage required.
I see, thank you!
How do you handle complex office formats with embedded elements? Do you reimplement ODT and other standards?