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Free diagnostic · 2 minutes

Where do your PDFs go?

Answer 6 questions about the PDF, e-signature and AI tools your teams use. You get a sovereignty score out of 100, your priority risks and a report ready to share.

Answer the questionnaire 6 questions · 2 minutes · no sign-up
  • Runs 100% locally
  • No email required
  • 19 tools reviewed and sourced

Question 1 of 6

When a PDF needs fixing, where do your teams go?

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Editing text, merging, reordering pages or hiding information: tick every tool in use, even occasionally.

Other tool…

Method

How the diagnostic works

  1. 01

    Tick the tools you use

    Editing, conversion, compression, e-signature and AI: select the online services your PDFs go through.

  2. 02

    Select your document types

    Contracts, HR, customer files, health or finance: the regulatory sensitivity of your files weights the result.

  3. 03

    Get your score out of 100

    CLOUD Act exposure, jurisdiction, server location, retention and AI: every criterion is rated and sourced.

Comparison

Where your PDFs go, tool by tool

The 19 most used PDF, e-signature and AI tools, assessed on the same checkpoints. Public sources verified on 14 November 2026.

Tool Use CLOUD Act Servers Retention AI Score
Ancrale Editing, Conversion, Compression, Signature, AI analysis No France 15 min No 100 /100
Universign Signature No France Persistent No 92 /100
Yousign (Youtrust) Signature No France Persistent No 92 /100
PDF24 Tools (online) Conversion, Compression, Editing No EU 1 h No 87 /100
iLovePDF Conversion, Compression, Editing No EU 2 h No 85 /100
Sejda PDF Web Editing, Compression, Conversion No Non-EU 2 h No 77 /100
Le Chat — Mistral AI AI analysis No EU Persistent Possible 73 /100
Smallpdf Conversion, Compression, Editing Exposed Non-EU Persistent No 57 /100
Adobe Acrobat Online Editing, Conversion, Compression Exposed Non-EU Persistent No 43 /100
Adobe Acrobat Sign Signature Exposed Non-EU Persistent No 43 /100
Claude (PDF upload) AI analysis Exposed Non-EU Persistent No 43 /100
DocuSign Signature Exposed Non-EU Persistent No 43 /100
Dropbox Sign (formerly HelloSign) Signature Exposed Non-EU Persistent No 43 /100
Foxit PDF Editor Cloud Editing, Conversion Exposed Non-EU Persistent No 43 /100
Microsoft Copilot AI analysis Exposed Non-EU Persistent No 43 /100
Canva (PDF import & editing) Editing Exposed Non-EU Persistent Possible 38 /100
ChatGPT (PDF upload) AI analysis Exposed Non-EU Persistent Possible 31 /100
Google Gemini (PDF upload) AI analysis Exposed Non-EU Persistent Possible 31 /100
Perplexity (PDF upload) AI analysis Exposed Non-EU Persistent Possible 31 /100

Understand

Why the location of your PDFs matters

The CLOUD Act follows the vendor, not the server

Enacted in March 2018, the CLOUD Act lets US authorities compel a provider subject to US law to hand over data it controls, wherever it is stored. A server in Frankfurt or Dublin therefore does not protect files entrusted to a US company.

GDPR restricts transfers outside the EU

Articles 44 to 50 of the GDPR restrict transfers of personal data outside the EU. Since the Schrems II ruling of the EU Court of Justice (16 July 2020), such transfers must be assessed case by case; the Data Privacy Framework adopted in July 2023 remains contested.

A PDF sent online is a copy you no longer control

Converting, compressing or summarising a contract with an online service means handing a copy to a third party. Retention, backups and reuse for AI training vary widely from one tool to another.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about PDF sovereignty

What is the CLOUD Act?

The CLOUD Act (Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act) is a US federal law enacted in March 2018. It allows US authorities to compel a company subject to US law to disclose data it holds or controls, including when that data is hosted outside the United States.

Is a tool hosted in Europe protected from the CLOUD Act?

Not necessarily. What matters is the nationality of the vendor and its parent company: a US service that stores your PDFs in Europe remains subject to the CLOUD Act. Only a vendor and a host governed exclusively by European law remove that risk.

Which PDF tools host files in France?

Of the 19 tools reviewed, those hosting your files in France are: Ancrale, Universign, Yousign (Youtrust). Each tool sheet details the host and retention period.

Do ChatGPT, Gemini or Copilot keep the PDFs I upload?

Yes, for a period that depends on the plan. On consumer accounts, files and conversations are kept and may be used to train models by default unless you opt out. Business plans generally exclude training but remain subject to US law.

How is the sovereignty score calculated?

Each tool is assessed on CLOUD Act exposure, vendor jurisdiction, server location and file retention (including AI training). The score blends the most exposed tool, the average of your tools and how many you use, then is weighted by the sensitivity of your documents (×1.00 to ×1.45).

Are my answers sent or stored?

No. The calculation runs entirely in your browser. No answer, score or file is transmitted or stored, and the site uses no cookies and no tracking.

Are the tool sheets up to date?

Each sheet is based on the vendor’s public policies and shows its verification date. Last update: 14 November 2026.