About FileWash

The problem this solves

Almost every free file tool on the web works the same way. You pick a file, it is uploaded to a company's server, something happens to it there, and you download the result. That model is convenient and it is what most people use without thinking about it.

It is also a strange thing to do with a contract, a medical scan, a passport photo, a payslip, or an unreleased design. You are handing a complete copy to a third party, trusting a privacy policy you did not read, in exchange for making a PDF smaller.

How FileWash works instead

Modern browsers can do this work themselves. FileWash uses JavaScript and WebAssembly to run the actual processing on your own machine — the same compression, conversion and editing, just performed locally instead of remotely.

Nothing is uploaded. There is no server-side pipeline, no temporary storage, no "files are deleted after one hour" promise to take on faith, because no file ever arrives anywhere to be deleted. Even the AI background remover runs locally: the neural network is downloaded to your browser and executed there.

Two consequences follow that people find surprising. The tools keep working with your internet disconnected once the page has loaded. And there are no file-size limits imposed by upload bandwidth or server quotas — the ceiling is your own device's memory.

You do not have to take our word for any of this. Open your browser's developer tools, watch the Network tab, and run a tool. Nothing carrying your file goes out.

What it costs

Nothing. There are no accounts, no sign-up, no trial, no watermarks, and no paid tier that unlocks the useful features. Because the processing happens on your device rather than ours, serving one more user costs us close to nothing — which is what makes free sustainable here.

Running the site does have modest costs (a domain, a small server for the static files). We cover these through advertising where it does not get in the way, and by keeping the operation deliberately small. Our privacy policy sets out exactly what is and is not collected, and nothing optional runs without your consent.

Who builds it

FileWash is an independent project by Cassi Lup, a developer based in Romania. It is not backed by a company, and it is not trying to become one. It exists because these tools should not require surrendering your documents to use them.

Something broken, wrong, or missing? Please say so — get in touch. Reports of tools misbehaving are genuinely useful and get read by the person who wrote the code.

The honest limitations

Client-side processing is the right trade for privacy, but it is a trade:

• Very large files depend on your device. A phone with little free memory will struggle where a laptop will not, because your hardware is doing the work.
• The first load of heavy tools is slower. Background removal has to fetch an AI model before it can run. After that it is cached and fast.
• A current browser is required. The tools rely on reasonably modern web standards, so a long-outdated browser will not work.