About
A private document workspace, built for people who care where their files go.
FormatLayer is a browser-based PDF workspace. Every tool — Edit, Merge, Split, Compress, Rotate, Crop, Resize, Organize, Protect, Unlock, Watermark, JPG to PDF and PDF to JPG — runs entirely on your own device. There is no upload step, no account requirement, and no server-side copy of the file you're working with.
The project started because most "free online PDF" tools quietly upload every document to a stranger's server. That's fine for a coffee-shop menu. It is not fine for a contract, a bank statement, a medical record, a passport scan, or a signed lease. FormatLayer was built for those files.
What we're committed to
Files never leave your device
Every tool runs on your own machine using WebAssembly and pdf-lib. There is no upload step and no server-side copy of your document.
Nothing to sell, nothing to leak
We do not train AI on your files, run ads against your document content, or sell data. There is nothing to sell because nothing leaves your machine.
No installs, no sign-ups
Open the site, drop a file, download the result. No desktop app, no plugin, no account, no watermark.
Lossless, canonical exports
Every export is a fresh, cleanly rebuilt PDF that opens identically in Acrobat, Preview, Chrome, and every other reader.
How it actually works
When you drop a PDF onto a FormatLayer tool, the browser reads the file directly from your disk using the standard File API. From that point on, all parsing, editing, and re-encoding happens inside your browser tab using two open-source engines: PDF.js for rendering and pdf-lib for editing.
When you click Download, the finished PDF is generated in memory and handed back to your browser as a normal file save. Your document never travels to any FormatLayer server — because it never had to. You can verify this yourself by opening your browser's Network panel while you use any tool.
This model has real tradeoffs. Very large files depend on your device's memory. Some advanced features (like collaborative editing) aren't possible without a server. We think those tradeoffs are worth it for the class of documents most people process online.
Who FormatLayer is for
Anyone who edits a PDF — but especially freelancers signing contracts, HR teams handling candidate documents, legal and accounting professionals working with confidential client files, students merging assignments, small businesses assembling invoices, and government-office staff standardizing intake forms. If the words on the page shouldn't be on a stranger's server, FormatLayer is built for you.
Get in touch
Feature requests, bug reports, partnerships, or press: email contact.formatlayer@gmail.com. We read every message and usually reply within 24–48 hours.