Your files never leave your device

What happens when you add a file

1. The file is read from your disk by the page, the same way a photo editor opens it. It isn’t copied anywhere.
2. The work runs on your processor. Pictures are decoded by your browser or by codecs compiled to WebAssembly. Video and audio use your device’s own hardware encoder where it can, and FFmpeg compiled to WebAssembly where it can’t.
3. The result is handed to your browser as a download. It is created in memory on your device and saved like any other download.

The meter above counts the bytes of your files that this page sends anywhere. It watches every network request the page makes, so if a file ever did go out, it would show.

Check it yourself in under a minute

1. Watch the Network tab

1. Open developer tools: F12 or Ctrl Shift I on Windows and Linux, ⌘ ⌥ I on a Mac. In Safari, turn on “Show features for web developers” in Settings → Advanced first.
2. Choose the Network tab and clear it.
3. Add a large file to any tool and run it.

You’ll see no request anywhere near the size of your file, and no POST or PUT requests at all. The only traffic is our own scripts and, for some formats, a one-time engine download.

2. Turn off your internet

Load a tool, then switch on airplane mode or unplug the network. Add a file and convert it. It still works, because nothing needs a server. The first time you use a format that needs an extra engine, load it once while online. See using FixMyFiles offline.

3. Try a file you’d never upload

That is the real test, and the reason the site exists. Tax returns, passport scans, family videos and unreleased tracks are exactly the files that shouldn’t go through a stranger’s server just to change format.

What the page does download

• The page itself: HTML, styles and a small amount of script.
• Codecs, only when needed: AVIF, WebP and JPEG encoders for pictures, audio encoders for MP3, AAC and FLAC, and FFmpeg (a 31 MB download) for older formats such as AVI, WMV or PSD. Each is downloaded once and kept by your browser.
• Nothing from anyone else. There are no ad networks, trackers, analytics scripts or third-party fonts.

Why we built it this way

Most online converters upload your file, process it on a server and send it back. That costs them bandwidth and storage, costs you waiting time, and leaves a copy of your file somewhere you can’t see. Modern browsers are fast enough to do the work themselves, so there is no longer a good reason to upload.

Questions about what we do and don’t store are answered in the privacy policy and on is FixMyFiles safe?