About FileBuddy
Free tools for the everyday file jobs that shouldn’t need an expensive subscription: merging PDFs, shrinking photos for a form, converting a document, or counting the words in an essay.
Who runs FileBuddy
FileBuddy is built and maintained by swarajsadili, an independent developer. It is not part of a larger company. I design the tools, write the guides, fix the bugs people report, and decide what gets added or removed.
Why it exists
Many people need to do one quick thing with a file: fit a scanned certificate under an upload limit, turn phone photos into one PDF, or make a passport photo the right size. The usual options are paid desktop software, sites that ask you to sign up first, or services that upload every file to a server. FileBuddy aims to do those everyday jobs for free, without an account, and without uploading your files wherever that is technically possible.
The site currently has 104 tools. The list is based on what people actually search for. Tools that almost nobody used have been retired and now redirect to a better alternative, so the collection stays focused.
How your files are handled
- Most tools run entirely in your browser. Your file is read and processed on your own device and is not sent to us.
- Five tools use our conversion server: Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and CSV to PDF, and PDF to PDF/A. These need LibreOffice, which cannot run in a browser. Files are sent over HTTPS, converted, returned to you, and deleted as soon as the request finishes. Each of these tools tells you before you upload.
- We do not ask for an account, and we do not sell personal data. Full details are in the privacy policy.
How tools are tested
Every tool is run against real sample files (PDFs, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents, and JPG, PNG, and SVG images) in an automated browser test, and the upload-to-download flow is checked in automated tests at desktop and mobile screen sizes. When a test or a user report shows that a tool does not do what its page says, the tool is fixed or the description is corrected.
Where a tool has a real limitation, its page says so. For example, the AI background remover can leave rough edges on fine hair or busy backgrounds, the passport photo maker does not replace backgrounds, and the signature tool adds a visual signature, not a certificate-based one.
How FileBuddy is funded
FileBuddy is free to use. Hosting and the conversion server are paid for by advertising shown on some pages. Ads are kept away from upload areas, editors, and download buttons so they cannot be clicked by mistake. Some guides may include clearly labelled affiliate links.
Guides
The guides explain common file problems in plain language, such as getting a PDF under 100KB for an application form or choosing between JPG and PNG, and every step matches how the tools actually work.
Contact, corrections, and feedback
If a tool fails on your file, a guide is wrong, or you would like a tool added, email swarajsadili@gmail.com or use the contact form. You can also use “Report an issue with this tool” at the bottom of any tool page. Reports never include your files.
Open-source credits
FileBuddy is built on excellent open-source projects, including pdf-lib, PDF.js, LibreOffice, Gotenberg, SheetJS, Tesseract, and others. See the open-source notices for licences.