Question 1

Is AFileFix really free?

Accepted Answer

Yes — most tools are free to use with no signup and no watermarks. AI features like Chat with PDF and Contract Review are included with daily usage limits. We plan to keep core PDF tools free while offering optional upgrades for advanced AI features in the future. See 'How much can I use the AI tools for free?' for the specific limits.

Question 2

Do I need an account?

Accepted Answer

No account needed to get started. Every tool works instantly — just upload and go. Some advanced features like saving analysis history will require a free account in the future.

Question 3

What formats are supported?

Accepted Answer

PDF for all document tools. JPG, PNG, WebP for image tools. DOCX files are supported as input in Document Comparison.

Question 4

Is there a file size limit?

Accepted Answer

Up to 50MB per file for all PDF tools. Multi-file tools (Merge, Compress) support up to 200MB total. Image tools accept up to 20MB per image (100MB total for Image to PDF). AI tools including Chat with PDF, Contract Review, and Invoice & Receipt Scanner support files up to 25MB. Most files are well under these limits.

Question 5

Is my data safe?

Accepted Answer

Yes — and how depends on the tool. Browser tools process your file on your device and never reach our servers. Server tools upload over HTTPS and delete the file from disk within minutes. AI tools hold your document in memory only and forward it to a third-party AI provider for analysis. See our Privacy page for the full per-category breakdown.

Question 6

Do you store my files?

Accepted Answer

It depends on the tool. Browser tools process your file on your device — we never receive it. Server tools upload, process within seconds, then delete the file from disk. AI tools hold your file in memory only and never write it to our disk; the third-party AI provider may retain it briefly for safety review. See our Privacy page for the full per-category breakdown. For a complete breakdown by tool, see the per-tool privacy table on our Privacy page.

Question 7

Do you use my documents to train AI?

Accepted Answer

No. Never. AFileFix uses the Claude API by Anthropic, which means your data is governed by Anthropic's commercial API terms — not their consumer product terms. Under the API terms, your data is never used for model training. This is a structural guarantee, not an opt-out setting.

Question 8

Is this more private than uploading to Claude.ai or ChatGPT directly?

Accepted Answer

Yes, meaningfully so. When you upload a document directly to Claude.ai or ChatGPT on a free or paid consumer plan, your data may be used for model training unless you have manually opted out — and that opt-out is not obvious. AFileFix routes your documents through the Claude API, where training on user data is prohibited by contract. Anthropic retains API data for up to 30 days for safety review, then permanently deletes it. Your data is never used to train AI models.

Question 9

How long does Anthropic keep my data when I use AI features?

Accepted Answer

Anthropic retains API request data for up to 30 days for safety review, then automatically and permanently deletes it. Your data is never used to train AI models. This applies to all AI features on AFileFix — Chat with PDF, Contract Review, and any future AI tools. After the 30-day window, no record of your document or analysis exists anywhere.

Question 10

How does AFileFix handle privacy?

Accepted Answer

Each tool clearly shows how your file is handled. Browser-based tools never leave your device. Server-based tools process files securely over HTTPS and delete them immediately. AI tools forward your document to the Claude API, which retains data for up to 30 days for safety review, then deletes it permanently. Your data is never used to train AI models. We do not sell or share your data with third parties.

Question 11

Why is my merged PDF larger than the originals combined?

Accepted Answer

PDFs can contain duplicate fonts and embedded resources. Try using Compress PDF after merging to reduce the size.

Question 12

Can I use password-protected PDFs with your tools?

Accepted Answer

Most tools require PDFs to be unlocked first. Use our Unlock PDF tool to remove the password, then use any tool you need — merge, compress, split, and more.

Question 13

How much will Compress PDF reduce my file size?

Accepted Answer

It depends on your PDF content. Files with many images typically see 40–70% reduction. Text-only PDFs may see 10–20%. We use server-side compression for the best possible results.

Question 14

What does Repair PDF do?

Accepted Answer

Repair PDF fixes corrupted or damaged PDF files that won't open properly. It reconstructs the PDF structure and corrects errors. If your PDF shows an error when opening, try repairing it first.

Question 15

How good is the PDF to Word conversion?

Accepted Answer

Our PDF to Word tool works best with text-based PDFs. Tables, headers, and basic formatting are preserved. Complex layouts with multiple columns or heavy graphics may not convert perfectly — this is a limitation of all free PDF to Word tools. For best results, use simple, text-heavy PDFs.

Question 16

Can I edit the Word file after converting?

Accepted Answer

Yes — that's the whole point. Once converted, you get a fully editable .docx file that opens in Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or any compatible app.

Question 17

PDF looks different after rotating?

Accepted Answer

Download and reopen in your PDF viewer — it displays correctly there.

Question 18

What happens if my PDF can't be merged?

Accepted Answer

Most PDFs merge directly in your browser with no server involvement. If a PDF has an incompatible structure, we'll ask your permission before processing it on our secure server. You can also remove the problematic file and retry. When server processing is needed, files are deleted within minutes after merging.

Question 19

What AI powers AFileFix?

Accepted Answer

All AI features use Claude by Anthropic — specifically the Claude API, not the consumer Claude.ai product. This distinction matters for privacy: API data is retained for up to 30 days for safety review, then deleted, and is never used to train AI models.

Question 20

How does Chat with PDF work?

Accepted Answer

Upload any PDF and ask questions in plain English. The AI reads your document and answers based on its content — summaries, specific information, explanations, and follow-up questions are all supported.

Question 21

How does Contract Review work?

Accepted Answer

Upload a contract PDF and the AI reads the full document, detects the contract type (vendor agreement, employment contract, NDA, freelance agreement), and returns a structured analysis — risk flags with severity levels, a checklist of standard clauses, key dates and deadlines, and plain-English explanations of any issues found. It takes 15–30 seconds.

Question 22

What does Contract Review actually check?

Accepted Answer

It checks for risk flags (missing limitation of liability, one-sided indemnification, broad IP assignment, auto-renewal traps, unilateral amendment rights, and more), verifies the presence of standard clauses (force majeure, dispute resolution, governing law, confidentiality, and others), and extracts key dates and financial terms. The checks are calibrated to contract type — an employment contract is assessed differently from a vendor SaaS agreement.

Question 23

Is Contract Review legal advice?

Accepted Answer

No. Contract Review highlights potential issues for your review and flags language that commonly causes problems. It is not a substitute for advice from a qualified lawyer. Always consult a lawyer before signing any contract that matters to you.

Question 24

What contract types does Contract Review support?

Accepted Answer

Vendor and SaaS agreements, employment contracts, NDAs and confidentiality agreements, and freelance or services agreements. It also handles generic commercial agreements and will flag if the uploaded document does not appear to be a contract.

Question 25

Is Chat with PDF free?

Accepted Answer

Yes — Chat with PDF is free with no signup required. Daily usage limits apply to keep the service available for everyone. See 'How much can I use the AI tools for free?' for the specific limits.

Question 26

Is Contract Review free?

Accepted Answer

Yes — Contract Review is free with no signup required. Daily usage limits apply. Higher limits and batch analysis for multiple contracts are planned as a paid feature. See 'How much can I use the AI tools for free?' for the specific limits.

Question 27

How much can I use the AI tools for free?

Accepted Answer

AFileFix has two daily limits: 2 free reviews per day for Contract Review, Invoice Scanner, and Document Comparison (these share one daily bucket), and 10 free messages per day for Chat with PDF (separate bucket). Both limits reset every 24 hours. No signup is required — limits apply per device. We may launch a Pro tier in the future for unlimited usage.

Question 28

How does the Invoice & Receipt Scanner work?

Accepted Answer

Upload up to 10 invoices, receipts, or financial documents — PDF, JPG, PNG, or WebP. The AI reads each document and extracts vendor name, document number, date, due date, line items, totals, and payment terms. It also validates the maths, detects overdue invoices, flags duplicate document numbers, and identifies missing fields. Results download as a formatted Word document (.docx) report.

Question 29

What file types does the Invoice & Receipt Scanner support?

Accepted Answer

PDF, JPG, PNG, and WebP — including photos taken on your phone. The AI can read invoices and receipts from camera photos, not just digital PDFs. For best results, ensure photos are flat and well-lit.

Question 30

Can AI read scanned documents?

Accepted Answer

Chat with PDF, Contract Review, and PDF to Word work best with text-based PDFs where the text is selectable. For scanned or image-only PDFs (and photos of documents), use the dedicated OCR — Scan to Text tool, which reads the pixels with AI and transcribes the text so you can copy, search, and reuse it.

Question 31

How does OCR — Scan to Text work?

Accepted Answer

Upload a scanned PDF (up to 25 pages) or a photo in JPG, PNG, or WebP. The AI reads each page as an image and transcribes the text verbatim, preserving headings, lists, and tables as Markdown. Anything genuinely unreadable is marked [illegible] rather than guessed. Copy the result or download it as a .txt or .md file.

Question 32

Why does OCR have a 25-page limit?

Accepted Answer

OCR reads each page as an image, which is heavier than reading a text layer, so it's capped at 25 pages per document to keep it fast and free. For longer files, use Split PDF to break the document into 25-page parts, then run OCR on each part. OCR has its own daily limit of 2 runs per device, separate from the other AI tools.

Question 33

How does PDF to Excel work?

Accepted Answer

Upload a PDF (up to 15 pages) and the AI finds the tables in it and extracts the rows and columns into a real .xlsx spreadsheet — one sheet per table. It reads cell values verbatim rather than summarizing, and it works on scanned PDFs too, since the AI reads the page as an image the same way OCR does. You preview the tables, then download the spreadsheet. PDF to Excel has its own daily limit of 2 runs per device.

Question 34

Is the Redact PDF tool real redaction?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Drawing a black box over text in many PDF editors is fake redaction — the original text stays underneath and can be copied or recovered. AFileFix's Redact PDF flattens each page to an image with the covered areas painted out, so there's no hidden text layer left behind; the removed content is genuinely gone. It runs entirely in your browser — your file is never uploaded. The trade-off is that the output is an image-based PDF, so its text is no longer selectable.

Question 35

What languages does AI support?

Accepted Answer

Most major languages including English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Portuguese, and more. Contract Review is optimised for English-language contracts.

Question 36

How does the Document Comparison tool work?

Accepted Answer

Upload two versions of any document — the original and the updated version. The AI reads both, identifies every meaningful change, and generates a downloadable .docx report showing what was added, removed, or modified, with plain-English explanations and before/after text for each change.

Question 37

What file types does Document Comparison support?

Accepted Answer

PDF and DOCX (Word documents) in both slots. You can even compare a DOCX original against a PDF revised version — the tool handles mixed formats automatically.

Question 38

How long can the documents be?

Accepted Answer

Up to around 150 pages per document for typical text-heavy documents. If documents exceed the processing limit, the first portion of each is compared and a warning is included in the report.

Question 39

My PDF won't upload — what do I do?

Accepted Answer

Check the file is under the size limit for the tool you're using and is not password protected. Try Chrome or Firefox for best results. If the file is password protected, use our Unlock PDF tool first.

Question 40

The download is not working?

Accepted Answer

Check your browser is not blocking downloads. Try right-clicking and choosing Save link as. If using Safari, try Chrome.

Question 41

My PDF looks wrong after processing?

Accepted Answer

Complex PDFs can sometimes have issues. If it fails consistently the PDF may have protection preventing processing.

Question 42

Why is AI giving wrong answers?

Accepted Answer

Try rephrasing your question or ask for the specific page or section. Always verify important information directly in your document. For contracts especially, AI analysis is a starting point — not a final answer.

Question 43

Contract Review says analysis failed — what do I do?

Accepted Answer

The most common causes are: the file is password-protected (unlock it first), the PDF is a scanned image with no selectable text (results may vary), or the file is very large. Try a smaller file or a text-based PDF. If the problem persists, contact us.

Question 44

The Invoice & Receipt Scanner extracted the wrong document number — what happened?

Accepted Answer

The document number field shows the reference number printed on the invoice or receipt (e.g. INV-001), not the filename. If the document has no printed reference number, this field will be blank. Check the original document to confirm.

Frequently Asked Questions