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Online PDF Editors: Are They Really Safe?

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PDF editors are a vital part of the remote working environment. They allow you to tweak documents and aid collaboration on projects. But people wonder if these tools are safe, as privacy and data breaches become commonplace.

In January 2020, over 280 million Microsoft customers had their private information up for grabs due to a data breach. And in more relatable events, over 10.6 million guests at the MGM hotel had their personal information shared on a hacking forum just a month later.

So the question remains: is an online PDF editor safe to use?

Let’s find out.

Why should you keep your documents safe online?

Every year, Americans lose $15 billion to identity theft, and it takes an average of 196 days to identify a data breach. No matter how secure you think a PDF file editor is, you can’t help but worry about someone else accessing your data when you upload them to the online editors.

Here are reasons to keep your documents safe online:

1.    It protects your sensitive information.

When handling a corporate document, remember that you deal with information that can affect other people’s lives and livelihoods. So, taking preventive measures to secure your documents should be the first thing on your mind when using an online PDF editor. By keeping your records safe online, you prevent the loss of corporate and personal data.

2.    It helps you monitor activity.

Unless you use the best PDF editor, you can’t tell when hackers access your documents online. By learning the different ways to keep your files safe, you reduce the chances of losing your data to malicious entities.

So while relying on a PDF editor’s inbuilt safety measures to keep fraudsters at bay, use additional monitoring tools as an extra layer of protection. By staying up to date with changes to your PDF, you will detect any suspicious activity early and block it.

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3.    It limits access to specific users.

Allowing different users access to one document, especially without tracking input, can create confusion in the workplace. It can also lead to untraceable data leaks.

To keep documents safe, you should control who has access to every file. This action will prevent people from going through other people’s private data. It can also protect your company’s secrets from falling into the hands of competitors.

4.    It can increase productivity.

Knowing that whenever you edit a PDF, a hacker may intercept the information document can affect your approach to work. And when you work under this pressure, you increase your chances of making a costly mistake.

But the assurance that your files are safe online will help you be more focused at work. Since you have one less thing to worry about, you can get more work done and be more productive. Besides, it’s better to invest in protecting your data than recovering it from hackers.

How to check if an online PDF editor is safe

A tool that allows you to convert PDF to editable Word sounds like the holy grail of documentation, right?

Well, not exactly; some PDF editors aren’t secure.

Alternatively, reliable tools like Lumin PDF editor allow you to work on sensitive documents without worrying about unauthorized access.

Follow these steps to check if an online editor is safe.

1.    Check if the PDF tool deletes your file after you edit

Some editors take about two hours to delete a document after you add text to a PDF, while others take longer. But some PDF tools don’t delete the files at all. Those are the ones you should avoid.

2.    Read the fine print

It’s common for people to accept privacy policies and terms of service without going through them. But if you want to keep your documents safe, start paying attention to what PDF editors say in their agreement policy.

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The first thing you should worry about is if they will use your data. Secondly, do they plan on sharing your data with third-parties organizations? If the answer is yes, you should avoid using the tool as your personal information is unsafe with companies.

3.    Know how your PDF editor plans to protect your data

Ensure that your preferred PDF tool follows your regional laws on the use of personal data. The editor should outline its approach to protecting users’ data from falling to third parties. Every Google PDF editor has to share its safety measures and policies in handling user data.

How to protect your PDFs

Now that you have seen the importance of protecting your documents, here are practical steps to safeguard your PDFs:

1.    Document expiry and self-destruction

There are many reasons to revoke or limit access to a document. For one, it ensures that the recipient doesn’t have permanent access.

With document expiry, you can ensure that nobody can reuse a download link more than once. You can also use this strategy when you have a contract that is only good for a set period, and you don’t want the document available after the deadline.

After you edit PDF file online, you should set it to self-destruct or expire to ensure that your information is safe.

2.    Digital rights management (DRM)

Digital Rights Management acts as a barrier that protects your document from reaching any person other than its intended recipients.

This form of security is ideal for authors who create e-books and owners of online courses who don’t want people to steal their work and profit from it.

It’s also safe when you create a fillable PDF, and you don’t want people to steal the information. So consider using a DRM system to protect your PDFs online.

3.    Restriction of printing

Some people who steal intellectual property these days don’t copy and paste content. They just print it directly from the platform and pass it off as theirs, which is blatant plagiarism.

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But you can stay on the safe side by preventing third parties from printing your PDF.

This type of security is also helpful when you create fillable PDF forms. It ensures that people can’t copy or replicate the information on the PDF.

And when you make PDF edit online free on a public computer, ensure you safeguard your document. It will prevent other users of that space from invading your privacy in your absence.

Conclusion

With more people becoming skilled at sniffing out poorly protected data gaps in an online system’s security, your information is only safe if you make an effort to protect it. Some PDF editors don’t do enough to keep hackers away, focusing, instead, on increasing market share.

But the top editors are safe to use. They protect user data by deleting PDFs after editing and implementing safety measures. And while the best PDF editors are secure, identifying and choosing the right ones will help you keep your documents safe online.


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