What your images contain
Images carry more than pixels: phone photos embed GPS coordinates, timestamps, and device info in EXIF data, and graphics can contain sensitive content — IDs, documents, unreleased designs. Uploading them anywhere deserves a second thought.
The privacy question for any converter is therefore simple: does my file travel to a server, or does the work happen on my device? The answer determines everything else.
Local conversion keeps files home
The CubTools converter runs entirely in your browser: files are read from disk, re-encoded in memory, and returned as downloads. No upload step exists in the pipeline — a fact you can verify in the Network tab of your browser's developer tools.
Architecture beats promises here. A privacy policy can change; 'the bytes never left your device' is a technical property, not a pledge. Local processing removes the need for trust.
How to judge any converter
Watch for upload indicators: progress bars, 'processing on our servers' messages, or delays that suggest network round-trips. Read retention policies — 'deleted after 24 hours' still means stored for 24 hours — and check whether an account is required for a task this simple.
The offline test is decisive: load the page, enable airplane mode, and convert. If it works, nothing is being sent. If it fails, your files were traveling.
Habits for sensitive images
Even with local tools, strip EXIF metadata from images you will publish — converters may or may not preserve it, so verify rather than assume. Keep originals and converted copies organized separately to avoid sharing the wrong version.
And remember the destination: a privately converted image can still be forwarded after you share it. The tool guarantees privacy of the conversion step; your sharing judgment covers everything after.
For teams handling customer or employee photos, write the local-only rule into policy: conversions happen in approved browser tools or on-device software, never on random upload sites. Policy turns good intentions into consistent practice, and it gives everyone a clear answer when a deadline tempts shortcuts. Pair the policy with a bookmarked local tool, and compliance becomes the path of least resistance rather than a chore for everyone.
What CubTools does not do
No accounts, no uploads, no server-side copies, no logs of your files. The conversion is client-side code doing standard re-encoding — the same math desktop software performs, minus the installation.
Closing the tab ends everything. There is no history to delete and no retention window to worry about, because there was never a server copy in the first place.
Frequently asked questions
Are my images uploaded during conversion?
No. The entire conversion runs in your browser — files never leave your device and nothing is stored on any server.
How can I verify a converter is really local?
Open the Network tab in developer tools while converting (no requests should appear), or try airplane mode after the page loads — local tools keep working.
Does conversion remove EXIF location data?
Not necessarily — it depends on the implementation. Verify with an EXIF viewer, or strip metadata deliberately before sharing sensitive photos.
Is anything kept after I close the tab?
Nothing. No account, no history, no server copies — the session ends completely when the tab closes.