Privacy Policy

1. Overview

PDFCheck ("we", "our", or "us"), operated by BusinessPress (businesspress.io), provides PDF analysis, validation, and related tools at pdfcheck.online, and via our Chrome browser extension.

This Privacy Policy explains what data we collect, why we collect it, how long we keep it, and the rights you have over your data. We process personal data in accordance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and applicable data protection law.

2. Data We Collect

2.1 Request-only PDF analysis

The metadata checker, validator, AI-signal detector, accessibility checker, signature checker, and comparison tools read uploads from request-scoped temporary storage on our server. They do not copy the original file into long-term application storage. The web platform removes the request upload after processing. Extracted metadata or result records can still be stored as described below, and optional security scanning can contact VirusTotal as described in Sections 2.4 and 9.

2.2 Tools that store files temporarily

Tools that must create a downloadable or editable result use filesystem storage. Merge, split, password, optimization, metadata editing, PDF editor, form builder/filler, font checker, image conversion/extraction, and PDF-to-Markdown workflows can store an input, generated output, rendered page, or working copy. Normal processing removes many inputs sooner; an hourly fallback cleanup removes files older than 24 hours, including files left by interrupted requests or abandoned sessions.

Most working files are on private application storage. Image converter and image extractor outputs are placed in tokenized public storage so the browser can display or download them. Those output URLs are not listed publicly, but anyone who receives the exact tokenized URL can access the file until cleanup. Do not upload confidential documents unless this handling is suitable for your use.

2.3 AI Chat and OCR

PDF AI Chat stores the original PDF in private application storage together with extracted text chunks, questions, answers, and annotations so the conversation can continue. Deleting the chat or account removes those locally held files and records. If AI/OCR processing is already in flight, deletion cannot recall content already sent to a provider; that provider's own retention and deletion terms apply.

AI Chat sends the question and relevant extracted PDF excerpts to the configured AI provider: OpenAI, with DeepSeek available as a fallback. For scanned PDFs, AI Chat and PDF-to-Markdown can render up to the configured page limit as images and send those page images to OpenAI for OCR. Provider processing is subject to the provider terms and privacy information linked in Section 9.

2.4 Conditional VirusTotal scanning

Upload security scanning and the user-requested virus-scan feature are configuration-dependent. When VirusTotal is enabled and configured, PDFCheck can send the file's SHA-256 hash to VirusTotal for a reputation lookup. If separate “upload unknown files” processing is enabled and the hash is not known, PDFCheck can also submit the uploaded file itself to VirusTotal. Full-file submission is not required for hash lookup and is controlled independently.

2.5 Analysis Results (Stored)

Metadata checks, validation, AI-signal detection, and PDF comparisons store result records so you can review them later. Stored result data can include:

• Original filename
• File size
• File hash (SHA-256, used to detect duplicate submissions)
• Extracted PDF metadata (title, author, creator application, creation date, modification date, PDF version, page count, etc.)
• Analysis results (validation checks, AI-detection signals, verification status)
• For comparisons, both filenames, file sizes, and the extracted comparison result
• A unique, randomly generated share token for the report link
• Timestamp of the analysis

Report links (/analysis/{token}) are tokenized and shareable when made public or when an authorized view key is included. Guest metadata and comparison results are deleted after 90 days; account-owned results remain until account deletion.

2.6 Guest Usage (No Account Required)

Guest users do not need to register. We assign a pseudonymous session identifier in the pdf-metadata-checker-session cookie to associate usage with the browser and enforce limits. The guest visitor record can contain:

• Session identifier and device fingerprint, where supplied
• Hashed IP address for rate limiting
• IP address, user-agent string, country code, device/browser/platform category, referrer domain, and landing page for operational visitor analytics and abuse investigation
• Daily usage counters, visit count, and activity timestamps

2.7 Registered Accounts

If you create an account, we additionally collect and store:

• Name
• Email address
• Hashed password
• Account creation date and last login date
• API token(s) you generate
• Analysis history associated with your account

2.8 Chrome Extension

The PDFCheck Chrome extension sends PDF files to our API (https://pdfcheck.online/api/v1) over HTTPS. The extension stores the following data locally on your device using chrome.storage.local:

• Your optional API token (if you choose to add one)
• Local history of recent analyses (filenames, file sizes, report tokens, timestamps)

The API token is transmitted to PDFCheck when it authenticates an API request. Recent-analysis history stays in local extension storage unless you choose a PDF for analysis, in which case that PDF and request metadata are sent to PDFCheck. The extension does not collect your general browsing history. It only accesses the active page when you explicitly start its PDF-link scan.

2.9 API Usage

Requests to our API can be authenticated with an API token. We record request counts and analysis results needed to enforce limits and provide history. API and MCP uploads use request or short-lived temporary storage; abandoned MCP upload files are covered by the same 24-hour cleanup limit.

3. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)

4. How We Use Your Data

We use service data to:

• Deliver PDF analysis results to you
• Make shareable report links available
• Maintain your analysis history (for account holders and session users)
• Enforce daily rate limits and prevent abuse
• Send transactional emails (account verification, password reset) to registered users
• Respond to support requests

We do not use uploaded PDFs, extracted PDF contents, private analysis results, account files, Chrome extension data, or support messages to personalize advertising. We do not sell this service data. If advertising is enabled on eligible public pages, Google and its advertising partners may process browser, device, IP address, cookie, and ad-interaction data as described in Sections 7 and 9.

5. Data Retention

6. Your Rights

Under the GDPR (and similar applicable laws), you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at dpo@businesspress.io. We will respond within 30 days.

7. Cookies, Advertising, and Your Choices

PDFCheck currently uses the necessary service cookies and browser-local preference/history storage listed below, plus privacy-focused Plausible Analytics. The Google AdSense loader is limited to eight named, indexable public tool pages for signed-out visitors and is blocked on signed-in, private, noindex, error, result, account, and legal pages. No advertising placements are currently displayed while the site awaits AdSense approval. A published Google-certified consent message is configured with consent, manage-options, and do-not-consent choices for the EEA, United Kingdom, and Switzerland. This privacy page never loads Google advertising code.

Account or server-side data deletion cannot remove these browser-local keys or Chrome extension storage from your device. Clear site data in your browser and clear or uninstall the extension if you also want to remove those local copies.

7.1 Google advertising cookies and identifiers

On eligible public content pages, the Google AdSense loader may contact Google before the site is approved so Google can verify the integration and deliver the configured consent message. If AdSense approves the site and advertising is activated, Google and participating third-party vendors may use cookies, web beacons, IP addresses, local storage, or similar identifiers to deliver, measure, limit, and report advertising. Google may use advertising cookies to show personalized ads based on visits to PDFCheck and other websites when your consent and Google settings permit it. Non-personalized ads can still use cookies or local storage for frequency capping, aggregated reporting, fraud prevention, and contextual ad delivery.

Where required in the EEA, United Kingdom, and Switzerland, PDFCheck uses Google's certified consent management platform to request consent before using advertising cookies, local storage, or personalized ads. The published message is configured to identify available purposes and vendors and to provide Consent, Do not consent, and Manage options choices. A Privacy and cookie settings control appears in the footer of eligible pages after Google's consent API becomes available, allowing visitors to reopen the message and change or withdraw their choice.

You can review or change Google's ad-personalization settings at Google Ads Settings. You can also learn how Google uses information from sites and apps that use its services. Browser controls can delete or block cookies, although blocking necessary cookies may affect login, security, or saved-session features. Advertising will not be treated as consent-ready until the published message, vendor list, refusal path, manage-options path, and withdrawal control have passed an anonymous production test.

8. Data Security

• Data submitted through the production website is transmitted using HTTPS
• Passwords are hashed using bcrypt and never stored in plain text
• Rate limiting uses an IP hash; operational visitor and security records can also contain the IP address and user-agent data disclosed in Section 2.6
• Report links use randomly generated tokens — they are not sequential or guessable
• Our infrastructure is hosted on servers with restricted access
• Private working storage is separated from tokenized public image outputs, and scheduled cleanup covers all configured transient paths

If you discover a security vulnerability, please report it responsibly to dpo@businesspress.io.

9. Third-Party Services

Core PDF parsing and transformation run on PDFCheck infrastructure. The following integrations can receive specific data when you use the related feature:

• OpenAI and DeepSeek: AI Chat sends questions and relevant extracted excerpts to the configured provider; OpenAI OCR can receive rendered PDF page images from scanned AI Chat and PDF-to-Markdown workflows. See OpenAI privacy and DeepSeek privacy.
• VirusTotal (Google): when configured, VirusTotal receives a SHA-256 hash for reputation lookup and receives the file only when separate unknown-file submission is enabled. See the VirusTotal privacy policy.
• Stripe: processes checkout, payment, billing, and subscription data. PDFCheck does not receive full card details. See Stripe privacy.
• Google OAuth: processes authentication when you choose Google sign-in. See the Google Privacy Policy.
• Resend: can process account email addresses and message delivery data for transactional email. See Resend privacy.
• Plausible Analytics: served from stats.businesspress.io for aggregate page and product interaction measurement. This implementation does not use advertising cookies or build cross-site advertising profiles.
• Google AdSense: if advertising is enabled, Google and vendors named in the consent interface can process the advertising data described in Section 7. Application route rules and account-side Auto Ads controls are separate safeguards.

Our hosting provider stores and processes application data on our behalf as infrastructure. Provider locations, subprocessors, and retention rules can differ from PDFCheck's own retention schedule; use the linked provider information before submitting sensitive content.

10. International Data Transfers

PDFCheck's hosting and the third-party providers listed above can process data in countries outside your own, including outside the EU/EEA. Where data protection law requires a transfer mechanism, the relevant controller or processor must rely on an adequacy decision, Standard Contractual Clauses, or another lawful safeguard. Provider privacy and subprocessor information describes their current processing locations in more detail.

11. Children's Privacy

Our service is not directed at children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16. If you believe a child has submitted data to us, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. When we make material changes, we will update the "last updated" date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Continued use of the service after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

13. Privacy Contact

For any questions about this Privacy Policy, to exercise your rights, or to report a concern, contact our privacy team:

We aim to respond to all legitimate data protection requests within 30 days. If your request is complex or you have made multiple requests, we may extend this period by a further two months; we will notify you if this is the case.