Privacy and Cookie Policy

Responsible party: PDF Surgeon

• Uploaded documents. PDF files you upload are transmitted to our processing service so the page operations you request can be performed. Their contents (including any personal information inside them) are processed only to produce the result you asked for.
• Technical and cookie data. IP address, browser type, device information and cookie identifiers used for security, preferences, analytics and advertising.

We process your information to deliver the service you request, to secure and maintain the platform, to comply with legal obligations, and — where you have consented — for personalised advertising. Our lawful bases under POPIA are your consent, performance of a contract with you, our legitimate interests, and compliance with law.

• Uploads are transmitted over encrypted HTTPS connections.
• Documents are processed in memory for the duration of the request and are not written to permanent storage. Any temporary working data is discarded automatically once the result is returned — target retention: [INSERT RETENTION PERIOD, e.g. “immediately, and no longer than 24 hours”].
• Records we must keep by law are retained for the period that law requires.

We share personal information only with operators that help us run the service: our cloud hosting and database provider [INSERT PROVIDER], and our advertising partner Google. Operators are bound to process information only on our instructions and to protect it appropriately. Where information is processed outside South Africa, we rely on the transfer safeguards permitted by section 72 of POPIA.

• Essential cookies protect the site and remember required preferences. They cannot be switched off.
• Preference and analytics cookies remember your choices and help us understand how the site is used.
• Advertising cookies. This site uses Google AdSense. Google, as a third-party vendor, uses cookies (including the DoubleClick DART cookie) to serve ads based on your prior visits to this and other websites. Other third-party vendors and ad networks may also serve ads on this site. You may opt out of personalised advertising through Google Ads Settings.

You choose your cookie preferences in the banner shown on your first visit, and you can clear your browser’s site data to be asked again.

You may ask us to confirm what information we hold about you, request access to it, ask us to correct or delete it, object to processing, and withdraw your consent at any time. Send requests to [INSERT EMAIL]. You may also lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (South Africa): enquiries@inforegulator.org.za.

We apply reasonable technical and organisational safeguards, including encrypted transport, access controls and row-level database security, to protect information against loss, damage or unauthorised access. If a security compromise affects your personal information, we will notify you and the Information Regulator as required by section 22 of POPIA.

The service is not intended for children under 18. We do not knowingly process the personal information of a child without the consent of a competent person.

We may update this policy from time to time and will change the date above when we do. Questions? Contact our Information Officer at support@pdfsurgeon.com.