LeafLock PDF vs Sejda: privacy and features compared

Published November 1, 2026

Sejda and LeafLock PDF both offer a full set of PDF tools in the browser. Sejda also sells a desktop application that processes files locally, which makes the comparison more interesting than most: the question is not only where files are processed, but what you have to install to get the answer you want.

This page compares the two on facts you can check. Everything we say about Sejda comes from its own website, linked under each section and in the sources for this page.

At a glance

Where your files are processed

Sejda. Its desktop page draws the line itself, in one sentence: “Sejda Web is the online, browser-based service, where files are uploaded and processed on our servers. Sejda Desktop is an application that you can install on your computer and files are processed locally, on your computer.” Asked directly whether desktop keeps files local, the same page answers: “Yes, with Sejda Desktop files are processed on your computer, not uploaded to our servers.”

So Sejda gives you a real choice — but it is a choice between two products, and the local one has to be downloaded and installed.

LeafLock. All processing runs in your browser. The file is read, changed and saved on your device, and isn’t sent to our servers or anyone else’s. There is no second product: the website is the local one. The site’s Content Security Policy sets connect-src 'self', so the browser itself blocks the page’s scripts from sending data elsewhere — you can watch it refuse on our verifiability page.

How long files are kept

Sejda. Its privacy policy says uploaded files and the processed output “will be permanently deleted after upload or processing respectively”, and that they are stored “for the sole purpose of giving you enough time to process and download them”. For files shared by link, it states: “The access link and the shared files will be permanently deleted automatically, 7 days after being shared.”

LeafLock. There’s nothing to keep, because files never reach a server. Results are created in your browser and downloaded directly. If you choose to, you can keep a finished file on your own device for five minutes, one hour or a day — it stays in your browser’s storage and still never reaches us.

Security certifications

Sejda. We found no security certification claimed on the pages listed in the sources above.

LeafLock. We don’t hold a security certification at this time. Our approach is to avoid handling your files at all, and to let the browser enforce that through the Content Security Policy. See our claims for what we do and don’t assert.

Free plan and limits

Sejda. Its pricing page describes the free tier as having “Page and hourly limits”, “Limited file uploads” and “Tool specific limits”, and the paid plans as offering “Unlimited documents, no page or hourly limits” and “Large file uploads, up to 500MB per file”. The exact free-tier figures are published per tool on Sejda’s own pages rather than in one place, so check the pricing page for the current numbers rather than taking ours.

Paid plans come as a short-term web pass, a monthly web plan, and an annual plan that includes Sejda Desktop. We have deliberately not quoted the prices here: they change, and a comparison page that quietly goes stale on a competitor’s price is worse than one that sends you to look.

LeafLock. All tools are free, and we set no file-size limit on any of them: because the work happens on your device, the only limit is your device’s memory and speed. We do limit how many tools you can use per day on the free plan: 20 a day without an account, 60 a day with a free account, and no daily limit on Pro. Tools marked Practice, such as Redact PDF and Compare PDF, are free during early access.

Data collected

Sejda. Its privacy policy lists contact information such as an email address, billing information including name and card details for customers, and “Internet Protocol address (IP), the address of the web pages you visited, browser type and settings”. Its downloadable products also report error information and operating system details.

LeafLock. No analytics, no advertising and no third-party scripts. The only cookie set while signed out is a short-lived one if you pick a visual skin. If a tool crashes we receive a short technical report with file names and page text removed in your browser first, and your IP address is not stored — you can see the fields in the privacy policy, and the whole list of what we receive on our claims.

Apps and platforms

Sejda. The web service runs in any browser. Sejda Desktop is downloadable for Mac (Intel and Apple Silicon), Windows (including a portable build), Linux (.deb and .rpm) and Chromebook.

LeafLock. One site, installable as an app from the browser on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS. Once installed it keeps working with no network, because the tools were never using one.

Which one fits you

Sejda may suit you better if you want a mature desktop application with a portable Windows build and Linux packages, and you don’t mind installing software to keep files local.

LeafLock may suit you better if you want files to stay on your device without installing anything and without choosing the right product first — the web version is the private one, on any operating system, including the phone in your pocket.