Privacy Policy

PDF NOVA is published by an individual developer based in Tunisia (“we”, “us”). This policy covers the PDF NOVA Android app (package com.pdfnova.app) and the website pdf-nova.com. We are the controller of the personal data described here.

Contact for anything in this policy: contact@pdf-nova.com.

• Most tools run entirely on your phone or in your browser. Those files are never uploaded.
• A file or text leaves your device only when you start a feature that needs a server (cloud AI, cloud conversion, cloud drives, Vault Sync). The app asks first and tells you what will be sent.
• You do not need an account. Without one, we hold no personal data about you on our servers.
• The free Android app shows Google ads. Ads never receive your documents. Pro removes the ads.
• We do not sell personal data, and we do not use your documents to train AI models.

Android app. Viewing, scanning, OCR, editing, signing, redaction, page tools, conversion to and from images and text, comparison, read aloud and the on-device AI search run on your phone. Files you open are copied into the app’s private storage; the original elsewhere is never changed. Android backup and device transfer are switched off for the app, so these files do not end up in your Google backup. Saved signatures are kept only if you tick “Save for reuse”. PDF passwords are kept in memory only. Temporary work files are deleted on every launch.

Website. Local tools (for example Merge, Split, Compress, OCR, Protect and the in-browser PDF to Word converter) process the file in your browser and upload nothing. To survive a page refresh, the open PDF and its last saved version are kept in your browser’s storage (IndexedDB) for up to 24 hours, and removed when you choose Close Document. Saved signatures are kept only when you opt in.

These run only when you start them. In the app, Offline mode turns all of them off.

• Cloud AI (summaries, questions, tasks and study material beyond the on-device mode): the app sends the passages of the document that match your request, plus your question, to the PDF NOVA server, which forwards them to an AI model provider (Cloudflare Workers AI, or Groq when enabled). The whole file is not sent. The app asks for your consent first; you can withdraw it in Settings. We do not keep the text, questions or answers. On the website, AI features (when available) send extracted text, the file name and your question to Anthropic.
• Cloud conversion (for example Word, Excel or PowerPoint to and from PDF when the on-device converter cannot do it): the file you picked is uploaded over HTTPS to our conversion server (LibreOffice) or, for some formats, to Adobe PDF Services, and deleted after the result is returned. The app asks before the first upload. The website’s server converters work the same way; an optional high-fidelity engine may use CloudConvert. Each tool says before the upload that the file will leave your browser.
• Web page to PDF (app): the app downloads the address you enter directly from that website.
• Cloud drives (Google Drive, OneDrive, SharePoint, Dropbox): files move directly between your device and the drive you connected; they do not pass through our servers. Access tokens are kept in the app’s encrypted storage and deleted when you disconnect. The app opens only the files you choose and saves only where you ask. On pdf-nova.com you sign in on the drive’s own Google, Dropbox or Microsoft page; the access it grants is kept only in the open browser tab’s memory and is forgotten when you disconnect or close the tab.
• Vault Sync (app, with an account): documents are encrypted on your device before upload. Our server stores only encrypted data and cannot read your documents or their names.

External providers apply their own retention terms; we choose and configure them so that content is used only to return your result.

Every local tool works without an account.

App account (optional). Sign-in (email and password, Google or Microsoft) is handled by Google Firebase Authentication, which keeps your email address, name, sign-in provider and a user ID. Our server stores only what the account features need: your user ID, your Google Play purchase status (to give you Pro on every device), small app preferences, and Vault Sync data, which is encrypted. You can delete the account in the app at any time; see Delete your account.

Website account. Website accounts are not open yet. When they open, we will store your email address, name, a hashed password (never the password itself) or the sign-in provider you used, and your active sessions (with the IP address and browser type, so you can see and sign out your devices).

PDF NOVA Pro in the app is sold through Google Play. Google handles payment; we never see your card or bank details. The app and our server receive the product, the purchase token and its status from Google Play so we can check that Pro is active. Google’s own privacy policy applies to the payment.

The free version of the app shows ads from Google AdMob, including optional rewarded ads that unlock extra documents or AI steps. To serve and measure ads and to prevent fraud, Google may collect your device’s advertising ID, IP address, device and app information, and how you interact with ads. Ad requests made by PDF NOVA never include your documents or their content.

In the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, you are asked for consent before personalised ads are shown, and you can change your choice any time in Settings → “Ad privacy choices”. You can also reset or delete your advertising ID in Android settings. When you watch a rewarded ad, Google confirms it to our server so the reward cannot be faked; we keep that confirmation with a random installation ID (or your account ID), the reward type and the time. Pro removes all ads.

Learn more: how Google uses information from apps that use its services.

The website uses no advertising or analytics cookies and no third-party trackers. It uses only:

• your browser’s local storage for preferences such as the light or dark theme and recent fonts;
• IndexedDB for the 24-hour document recovery described above;
• once website accounts open, a sign-in cookie (pdfnova.session_token, valid 7 days) that keeps you signed in.

These are strictly necessary for the features you use, so no consent banner is needed.

Like any online service, our servers receive your IP address and basic request information (time, address requested, browser or app version, result). We use it to deliver the service, limit abuse (for example per-IP rate limits) and fix errors, and keep it only for a short time. We never log document contents, extracted text, file names, passwords or AI questions and answers. The Android app contains no analytics or crash-reporting SDK.

• Camera: only for the document scanner, requested when you first use it.
• Internet and network state: ads, purchases, and the optional online features above.
• Biometrics (optional app lock): the check is done by Android; PDF NOVA never receives or stores biometric data.

We use these providers, each only for the purpose listed:

• Google (Firebase Authentication, AdMob, Google Play Billing): accounts, ads, purchases.
• Cloudflare: hosts the app’s server (account data, Vault Sync, AI requests) and runs Cloudflare Workers AI.
• Groq and Anthropic: AI answers, when those engines are enabled.
• Adobe PDF Services and CloudConvert: some cloud conversions, when enabled.
• OVH (France): hosts pdf-nova.com and our own conversion server.
• Google, Microsoft, Dropbox: only if you connect your own cloud drive or sign in with them; their privacy policies apply to those accounts.

Some providers process data outside your country, including in the United States. Where the law requires it, transfers rely on the providers’ standard contractual clauses or equivalent safeguards.

• To provide the features you ask for, your account and Pro (performance of a contract).
• To send content to cloud AI or conversion, and for personalised ads where required (your consent).
• For security, fraud prevention and fixing errors (our legitimate interests).
• To keep records the law requires (legal obligation).

• Files on your device: until you delete them or uninstall the app.
• Files sent for conversion or AI: only while the request runs.
• Account data, Pro status, preferences and Vault Sync data: until you delete the account (or the vault).
• Rewarded-ad confirmations: as long as needed to prevent reward fraud.
• Server logs: a short time, for security and troubleshooting.

All traffic uses HTTPS. Vault Sync is end-to-end encrypted. Cloud-drive tokens and Vault Sync keys are protected by the Android Keystore. Sensitive account actions ask you to sign in again. No system is perfectly secure; if a breach affects your data we will inform you and the authorities as the law requires.

You can ask to access, correct, export or delete your personal data, object to or restrict its use, and withdraw consent at any time (this does not affect what was done before). Many of these are built in: delete documents and signatures in the app, delete your account, change ad choices, or turn cloud features off.

For anything else, write to contact@pdf-nova.com. We answer within 30 days. You may also complain to your data protection authority (in Tunisia the INPDP; in the EU, the authority of your country).

PDF NOVA is not directed at children under 13 (or the higher minimum age in your country) and we do not knowingly collect their personal data. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we will delete it.

We will update this page when the product changes, with a new “Last updated” date. If a change affects how we use data you have already given us, we will tell you in the app or on the website before it takes effect.