Your files are guests, not inventory.

Jobs and temporary storage

Uploaded files live in a temporary work directory on the PaperLab host. Every job has a time limit (two hours by default) and the server sweeps expired work automatically. Download anything you want to keep before the window closes.

If you deploy PaperLab yourself, files stay on your server. The hosted instance uses the same engine and the same expiry rules.

Google sign-in and Drive are optional

You can sign in with Google from the header or the account page to connect Google Drive for PDF import and save. Nothing is connected until you choose it, and every tool still works with local files.

• PaperLab requests openid, email, profile, and the narrow drive.file scope in one consent. It can see the name, email, and profile photo attached to your Google account, plus files you pick in Google's Picker and files PaperLab creates — not the rest of your Drive.
• Google Identity Services issues the access token. The token and the display profile (name, email, photo) are kept in this browser tab's sessionStorage. Neither is sent to the PaperLab API or stored in a database.
• The profile is used only to show who is signed in. PaperLab does not create an account, send email, or build a user record from it.
• An imported PDF is downloaded by your browser from Google, then uploaded to PaperLab like any local file. A saved output travels from PaperLab to your browser, then to Google.
• Disconnecting revokes the token and clears the token and cached profile from the tab. Closing the tab also ends the session.
• PaperLab cannot list your Drive, read unpicked files, or keep access after you disconnect.

What PaperLab does not do

• No PaperLab account, document library, or cloud file history.
• No analytics or advertising trackers on these pages.
• No selling or sharing of file contents.
• No watermarks or locked exports.

Contact

PaperLab is open source. Questions or reports can go to the GitHub repository.

Last updated October 2026.