Security & Data Privacy
We built this tool to handle sensitive documents. This page explains in plain language exactly what happens to your files, how long they are kept, who can access them, and how to request deletion.
Last updated: June 10, 2026
TL;DR: Your uploaded files are sent over HTTPS, processed by our OCR engine, and then permanently deleted within 1 hour of upload. We do not sell, share, or retain your documents or extracted text. No account is required.
Encryption in Transit
All data (including uploaded images, PDFs, and any text you enter) is transmitted over HTTPS using TLS 1.2 or higher. This means your file is encrypted in transit between your browser and our servers and cannot be intercepted in a readable form.
Our infrastructure is hosted on cloud providers that maintain AES-256 encryption for data at rest. While files are temporarily held in memory or short-lived storage during processing, they are subject to the same encryption standards.
File Deletion Window
| File Type | Processing Time | Maximum Retention | How Deleted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uploaded images (JPG, PNG, BMP, WebP, TIFF) | Seconds | ≤ 1 hour | Auto-deleted by server job |
| Uploaded PDFs | Seconds – minutes | ≤ 1 hour | Auto-deleted by server job |
| Extracted text output | Returned to browser | Never stored server-side | Exists only in your browser session |
Files are not stored in any persistent database. They are written to temporary cloud storage solely for the duration of OCR processing, then deleted by an automated cleanup job. In normal operation, deletion happens within seconds of processing completion. The 1-hour window is a worst-case bound.
Storage Policy
We operate a no-persistent-storage policy for uploaded files and extracted text. Specifically:
- ✓Uploaded files are never written to a permanent database.
- ✓Extracted text output is returned directly to your browser and is not logged or stored on our servers.
- ✓No copies of your documents are made for training AI models.
- ✓No copies are made for quality review, research, or any other internal purpose.
- ✓We do not create thumbnails, previews, or cached versions of uploaded files beyond what is needed for immediate processing.
- ✓Paid subscriber account data (email, billing info) is stored separately from file processing infrastructure.
What Happens to Extracted Text
Key point
The extracted text is returned directly to your browser and displayed on screen. It is never stored, logged, or transmitted to any third party from our side.
When you click "Extract Text", the following happens:
- 1Your browser sends the image file to our server over HTTPS.
- 2Our OCR engine (Google Cloud Vision API) processes the image and returns raw text.
- 3Our server forwards that text back to your browser over HTTPS.
- 4The image file is deleted from temporary storage.
- 5The extracted text lives only in your browser tab. It is never written to our database.
Third-Party Processors
We use a small number of trusted sub-processors to operate the service. Each is listed below with its role and data handling relevance.
What data: Receives the uploaded image for text recognition
Retention: Not retained by Google beyond the API call. Google's API data usage policies apply.
Privacy policy: https://cloud.google.com/vision/docs/data-usage
What data: Hosts the application; processes requests at the edge
Retention: Vercel does not store uploaded file content beyond request completion.
Privacy policy: https://vercel.com/legal/privacy-policy
What data: Stores account emails and subscription status for paying users only. Uploaded files are never stored here.
Retention: Retained until account deletion is requested.
Privacy policy: https://firebase.google.com/support/privacy
What data: Handles billing for paid plans. We do not store payment card data.
Retention: Governed by Paddle's privacy policy.
Privacy policy: https://www.paddle.com/legal/privacy
What data: Collects anonymized page views and performance metrics. No file content or extracted text is included.
Retention: Aggregated; no personal identifiers.
Privacy policy: https://vercel.com/docs/analytics/privacy-policy
We do not sell your data to any third party. We do not use your files or extracted text for advertising targeting. No sub-processor receives your extracted text.
No Human Review of Your Files
No member of our team views, reviews, or accesses the content of your uploaded images or documents. Processing is fully automated.
The only exception is if you voluntarily submit a file to our support team as part of a bug report. In that case we will only use it to diagnose the reported issue and will delete it afterwards.
Account & Personal Data (Paid Users)
For users on a paid plan, we store the following account data in Firebase:
- Email address (used for login and billing communications)
- Subscription status and plan type
- Usage count (number of OCR conversions, for quota enforcement)
- Payment records managed by Paddle (we do not store card details)
Free (unauthenticated) users do not have accounts and we store no personal data linked to them beyond anonymized analytics.
Request Data Deletion
Because uploaded files are automatically deleted within 1 hour, there is typically nothing left to delete by the time you finish using the tool. However, if you are a registered user and wish to delete your account and all associated personal data, you can request deletion using any of the methods below.
📧 Email Request
Send a deletion request to:
support@extractimagetotext.orgSubject: "Data Deletion Request"
Include your registered email address.
📝 Contact Form
Use our contact page and select "Data & Privacy" as the topic.
Go to Contact Page →We will confirm deletion within 7 business days.
Your Rights
Regardless of where you are located, we respect the following rights in relation to your personal data:
Right to Access
Request a copy of any personal data we hold about you.
Right to Erasure
Request deletion of your account and personal data.
Right to Correction
Update inaccurate personal data held in your account.
Right to Portability
Receive your data in a machine-readable format.
Right to Object
Object to processing of your data for certain purposes.
Right to Withdraw Consent
Opt out of any non-essential data processing at any time.
To exercise any of these rights, email support@extractimagetotext.org.
Changes to This Policy
If we make material changes to how we handle your data (for example, introducing a new sub-processor or changing retention windows), we will update this page and revise the "Last updated" date at the top. For significant changes affecting paid users, we will send a notification to your registered email address.
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