Guide

What stays on your device with browser document tools

RealScaner runs its scanner and PDF tools in your browser. The file you pick is processed on that device, and the download is written back to your downloads folder. That design keeps your documents off any server. The rest of the web follows its own rules, so read the privacy policy for the site’s actual data practices.

What the tool sees

When you choose a PDF or image, the browser reads that file into memory so the page can render it, compress it, or add marks. Closing the tab drops that memory. There is no account, cloud folder, or share link holding your documents, so nothing sits on a server. Your download is the only copy, so keep it.

What still leaves the browser

Loading realscaner.com itself is a normal web request. Your browser sends the address you opened, basic connection data, and whatever your network already logs. Optional ads or analytics run only after you allow them in the consent banner. You can reopen that choice from Privacy settings in the footer. Details of cookies are in the cookie notice.

• The document bytes are for the tool on the page, not an upload form.
• A screenshot you paste is the same kind of local file as one you pick from disk.
• Emailing the finished PDF is a separate step. Whoever you send it to receives the file.
• Shared or work-managed browsers may still back up downloads. Check that device’s policy if the document is sensitive.

Habits that matter more than the tool

Do not scan passwords, full card numbers, or medical files on a computer you do not control. Delete the download from a shared machine when you are done. Rename files so a later backup is obvious. If a portal requires you to upload the PDF, that portal’s policy applies from the moment you submit, regardless of how the PDF was made.

Updated September 26, 2026. First published September 25, 2026.

Keep reading

• How to scan a document on your phone

  Lighting, framing, and export settings that turn a phone photo into a readable scan.

• When a phone scan is good enough

  Jobs a phone PDF can handle, and jobs that still need a certified copy or a flatbed scanner.

• Compress a PDF without ruining the text

  When shrinking images inside a PDF helps, and when a smaller file starts to look worse.

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