PDF AnnotatorOpen a PDF

Privacy Policy

Effective Last updated

This policy explains what information PDF Annotator (the website and editor at pdfannotation.app, “we”, “us”) collects, why, who it is shared with, and the rights you have over it. It is written for the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations, and for the EU GDPR where that applies to you.

1. Who we are

PDF Annotator is a trading name of Stanmash Ltd, a private company limited by shares registered in England and Wales under company number 17337841, with its registered office at Stoney Works, 8 Stoney Lane, London SE19 3BD, United Kingdom. Stanmash Ltd is the controller of the personal data described in this policy. For any question about it, or to exercise a right described below, email stasmashkin.art@gmail.com.

2. Your PDF files

The editor opens, displays, annotates and exports your PDF inside your browser tab. The file is not uploaded to us or to anyone else, and we never receive a copy of it, its contents, or the annotations you add.

So that a reload doesn’t lose your work, the editor saves the current session — the PDF, its file name and your annotations — and any signatures you create in your browser’s own storage (IndexedDB) on your device. That data stays on the device; we cannot see it, restore it or delete it for you. Clearing this site’s data in your browser removes it.

One exception to “we never see it” is described in section 3.2: if a session recording is made while you have a PDF open, it can include text that the editor shows on screen.

3. What we collect and why

There are no accounts, no payments and no advertising on this site. What we do collect is below.

3.1 Product analytics (PostHog)

We use PostHog to understand how the tool is used and where it breaks. It records page views and page exits, and a small set of events from the editor:

  • a PDF was opened — how (file picker, drag-and-drop or the sample file) and its size in kilobytes;
  • an annotation was created — which tool and on which page number;
  • an export started, finished or failed — the number of pages and annotations, how long it took, and for failures a shortened error type with anything that looks like a file name or path removed.

Along with each event PostHog records the page address, the referring page, your browser, operating system, device type and screen size, and a random identifier stored in your browser (see section 8). We have configured PostHog to discard IP addresses; PostHog may derive an approximate location (such as country and city) from the IP address before it is discarded. Events never contain your file name or the contents of your PDF. PostHog records nothing if your browser sends a Do Not Track signal.

3.2 Session recordings (PostHog)

PostHog’s session recording feature is enabled for this site. A recording captures how a visit unfolds — the structure and text of the page, clicks, scrolling, mouse movement and browser-console messages — so that we can see where the tool confuses people or fails. Text typed into form fields is masked by default and the rendered images of your PDF pages are not captured. However, the editor places the file name and the document’s selectable text on the page, so a recording made while a PDF is open can include that text. Recordings are kept for 30 days and then deleted automatically. Do Not Track stops recordings as well as the analytics above.

3.3 Google Analytics

We also use Google Analytics 4 to measure traffic to the site: pages viewed, how visitors arrived, and general device, browser and approximate-location information. It sets its own cookies (section 8). According to Google, Google Analytics 4 does not log or store IP addresses. Google Analytics does not honour the Do Not Track signal; you can block it with your browser’s content settings or Google’s opt-out browser add-on.

3.4 Feedback you send

If you use the feedback form, we receive the category you chose (bug or idea), your message, where you sent it from (the editor or the home page) and — only if you fill it in — your email address, so we can reply. Our server adds your country (as reported by our hosting provider) and your browser’s user-agent string to help reproduce bugs, and delivers the message to a private Telegram chat that only we read. A copy of the category, message, source and email address (if given) is also recorded as an event in PostHog. Nothing about your PDF is sent with feedback.

3.5 Hosting

The site is served by Cloudflare. Like any web host, Cloudflare processes technical data about each request — IP address, browser user-agent, the address requested and the time — to deliver the page and protect the site from attacks. We do not use this data to identify visitors.

3.6 What we don’t do

  • We don’t receive, store or read your PDF files.
  • We don’t sell personal data or share it with data brokers.
  • We don’t show ads or use advertising or retargeting cookies.
  • We don’t ask for an account, a name or payment details.

4. Legal bases

  • Legitimate interests (UK GDPR Article 6(1)(f)) — to measure how the tool is used, find and fix faults (analytics and session recordings), keep the site secure, and read and reply to feedback you choose to send. You can object at any time (section 9).
  • Legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c)) — where the law requires us to keep records or respond to a lawful request.

5. Who we share data with

We share data only with the service providers we need to run the site. They process it on our behalf:

  • Cloudflare, Inc. — hosting, content delivery and security, and the server function that forwards feedback. Cloudflare privacy policy.
  • PostHog — product analytics, session recordings and a copy of feedback messages (sections 3.1, 3.2 and 3.4), processed on PostHog’s EU infrastructure. PostHog privacy policy.
  • Google LLC — Google Analytics (section 3.3). Google privacy policy.
  • Telegram — delivers feedback messages to our private chat (section 3.4). Telegram privacy policy.

We may also disclose information if the law requires it, or to a buyer of the business if PDF Annotator is ever sold — in which case this policy would continue to apply to data collected under it.

6. International transfers

PostHog processes our data in the European Union, which the UK recognises as providing adequate protection. Google, Cloudflare and Telegram may process data in the United States and other countries outside the UK. Where they do, the transfer relies on a lawful mechanism such as the UK Extension to the EU–US Data Privacy Framework or the UK International Data Transfer Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses.

7. How long we keep data

  • Your PDF session and signatures — on your device only, until you clear this site’s data or replace the session by opening another PDF.
  • Session recordings — 30 days, then deleted automatically.
  • PostHog analytics events — for as long as they help us understand how the tool is used. Ask us and we will delete events linked to your identifier.
  • Google Analytics — no longer than 14 months, the maximum retention period Google Analytics offers for user-level data.
  • Feedback messages — in our private Telegram chat for as long as the bug or idea is still open. Ask us and we will delete yours.

8. Cookies and browser storage

The site stores the following in your browser:

  • _ga, _ga_N3M5RG84F5 — Google Analytics cookies that tell one visitor from another and keep track of a visit. They last up to two years.
  • ph_…_posthog — a PostHog cookie and matching local storage entry holding the random identifier used for analytics and session recordings.
  • IndexedDB database pdfannotator — your current editor session and saved signatures (section 2). Never sent anywhere.
  • Local storage entries for your light/dark theme choice and whether you dismissed the feedback button. Never sent anywhere.

The analytics cookies are not needed for the editor to work. You can block or delete them in your browser settings without losing any functionality, and turning on Do Not Track stops PostHog.

9. Your rights

Under UK GDPR you have the right to:

  • access the personal data we hold about you;
  • have inaccurate data corrected;
  • have your data deleted;
  • restrict how we use it, or object to our using it;
  • receive a copy of it in a portable format.

To use any of these rights, email stasmashkin.art@gmail.com. We reply within one month. Because we don’t ask who you are, we may need something to find your data by — the email address you gave in a feedback message, or the PostHog identifier stored in your browser.

If you are unhappy with how we handle your data, you can complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or on 0303 123 1113. If you live in the EU, you can also complain to your local data protection authority. We’d appreciate the chance to put it right first.

10. Security

The site is served only over HTTPS with strict transport security and a content security policy that limits which outside services can run code on the page. Keeping your PDF in your own browser is itself the main safeguard: there is no store of documents to breach. If you find a vulnerability, please report it as described in our security.txt.

11. Children

The site is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from them. If you believe a child has sent us personal data through the feedback form, contact us and we will delete it.

12. Changes to this policy

When what we collect changes, we update this page and the “Last updated” date at the top.

13. Contact

Stanmash Ltd, Stoney Works, 8 Stoney Lane, London SE19 3BD, United Kingdom. Email: stasmashkin.art@gmail.com.