Cookie Policy
Last updated: 31 August 2026
This policy explains what cookies and similar technologies pdfdw uses, why we use them, and how you can control them. It should be read alongside our Privacy Policy.
1. What cookies are
Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit a website. We also use local storage, a related browser technology that stores data on your device but is never automatically transmitted to a server. Where this policy says "cookies", it covers both unless stated otherwise.
2. Your choice, and what happens before you make it
When you first visit, you will see a consent banner offering Accept all and Reject non-essential. Until you choose:
- Only strictly necessary cookies are used.
- No advertising script is loaded and no advertising cookie is set. The banner does not merely record your preference after the fact; it controls whether the advertising code is loaded at all.
If you select Reject non-essential, advertising cookies stay off and the site continues to work normally. Rejecting does not restrict access to any tool.
3. Cookies we use
A. Strictly necessary — no consent required
These are required to deliver a service you have actively requested, such as signing in. Under the ePrivacy rules they are exempt from consent, and they cannot be switched off without breaking authentication. They are only set if you create an account and log in.
| Name | Purpose | Type |
|---|---|---|
| access_token | Keeps you signed in across page loads. | HTTP-only cookie |
| refresh_token | Renews your session without asking you to log in again. | HTTP-only cookie |
| oauth_state_google oauth_state_github |
Short-lived security value that protects social sign-in against cross-site request forgery. Only set if you use social login. | Cookie |
| pdfdw_cookie_consent_v1 | Remembers your cookie choice so you are not asked on every page. Stored on your device only and never sent to us. | Local storage |
The access_token and refresh_token cookies are HTTP-only, meaning JavaScript on the page cannot read them.
B. Advertising — only with your consent
Advertising is how the free tools stay free. Where ads are shown, they are served by Google AdSense. If you accept, Google and its partners may set cookies or read device identifiers to serve and measure ads and to limit how often you see the same one. Google acts as an independent controller for this activity, so its own policy on how it uses data from partner sites applies in addition to ours.
One boundary worth stating plainly: the contents of your PDFs are never shared with advertising partners and are never used to target ads. Documents processed on our servers are deleted immediately after processing, and files handled by the browser-based tools never reach us at all.
C. Analytics
We do not use Google Analytics, Meta pixels or comparable third-party analytics products. If that changes we will update this policy and add the category to the consent banner, which will re-ask for your choice rather than assume it.
4. Other third-party services
Some pages load resources from third parties that may receive your IP address as a technical necessity of delivering the resource:
- Lemon Squeezy — our payment merchant of record. Its checkout and its own cookies apply when you subscribe or manage billing.
- Content delivery networks and Google Fonts — used to serve stylesheets, JavaScript libraries and the Inter typeface.
5. Changing or withdrawing your consent
You can change your mind at any time, and it is no harder than giving consent was:
- Select Cookie settings in the footer of any page. The banner reopens and your previous choice is cleared.
- Or clear cookies and site data for this site in your browser settings, which also removes the stored record and makes the banner reappear.
Withdrawing consent stops further advertising cookies being set through this site. It does not retroactively erase data a third party already collected while consent was active; for that, use the relevant provider's own controls, such as Google My Ad Center.
Browser-level controls. Every major browser lets you block or delete cookies. Blocking strictly necessary cookies will prevent you from staying signed in, but the browser-based PDF tools will still work, because they never needed a server.
6. Contact
Questions about this policy can go to privacy@pdfdw.com, or use our contact page.