Frequently asked questions

What GoSmart PDF does with your documents, what it costs and what it can and cannot do — answered plainly, in one place.

Are my PDF files uploaded to a server?

No. Every tool on GoSmart PDF runs inside your own browser tab. The file is opened, changed and saved by your device, and it never travels to us or to anyone else — there is nothing for us to store, read or leak.

Is GoSmart PDF free to use?

Yes. Every tool on the site is free today, with no trial clock, no watermark on what you export and no daily cap on how many files you run through it.

Do I need an account to use the tools?

No. There is no sign-up, no login and no email address to hand over. Open a tool, drop in a file and download the result.

How do I merge two PDF files into one?

Open the Merge tool, add the PDFs in the order you want them, drag any of them to reorder, then export. The combined document is assembled in your browser and saved straight to your downloads folder.

How do I split a PDF into separate files?

Open the Split tool, load the document and give it the page ranges you want — each range comes back as its own PDF. Use the Page Manager instead if you would rather pick, reorder or rotate pages visually.

Can I compress a PDF without wrecking the quality?

Yes. Smart Compress downsamples and re-encodes the images inside the file rather than flattening the pages, which typically takes 60-85% off the size while the text stays sharp and selectable.

Can I password-protect a PDF?

Yes. The Secure tool sets an open password, encrypts the document and can restrict printing, copying and editing. Because the encryption happens on your machine, the password is never typed into anybody else’s server.

Does redaction really remove the text, or just draw a black box over it?

It removes it. PII Redact finds emails, phone numbers, card numbers and government IDs, then deletes the underlying text and paints the area out, so the words cannot be recovered by copying the page or reading the file in a text editor.

Can I convert a PDF to Word?

Yes. The Convert tool exports a PDF to a .docx file you can open in Word, Pages or Google Docs, and it also exports pages as JPG, PNG or plain text.

Does OCR work on a scanned PDF, or only on images?

Both. OCR reads the pages of a scanned PDF as well as photographs and screenshots, lets you correct anything it misread, and saves the document back with a searchable text layer behind the original scan.

Is there a file size limit?

There is no limit we impose. The ceiling is your device’s memory, since the whole document is held in the browser tab — a few hundred megabytes is comfortable on a modern laptop, less so on an older phone.

Which browsers does GoSmart PDF work in?

Any current version of Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox, on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android or iOS. Nothing to install and no extension to add.

Is there a Mac or iPhone app?

Yes. GoSmart PDF is a native app on the Mac App Store and the App Store, with the same on-device processing and a wider set of tools. The web version needs no install and works on any machine you happen to be at.

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