# Terms of use

> StartPrivate's tools are provided as is, without any warranty that they will find or remove everything in a file. You remain responsible for checking each result and for what you choose to share, pixelate and blur covers can sometimes be reversed, and the site keeps no accounts or copies of your files.

## Using the site

You may use the tools for your own purposes, personal or work, without signing up. By using them you accept these terms. If you do not accept them, please do not use the tools.

## The tools come as they are

The tools are offered as is and as available. They are built and tested with care, and the [methodology page](/methodology/) describes how, but there is no promise, express or implied, that any tool is free of mistakes, suits a particular purpose, or will keep working in every browser on every device. Specifically:

- **Automatic finders miss things.** The face finder and the text finder suggest boxes. They can overlook a face, a number or a code, and they can box the wrong thing.
- **Metadata cleaning covers known formats and fields.** The pages list what each tool removes and keeps. Unusual cameras, apps or file structures may hold information in places a tool does not recognize, and information shown in the image, the video frames or the text of a document is never touched by the metadata tools.
- **Decorative covers are reversible.** Pixelate and Blur are visual effects. Text, numbers and faces under them can sometimes be reconstructed. Use the solid block whenever something must stay unreadable.
- **Office cleaning changes documents.** Accepting tracked changes alters the text of a document, and removing comments removes them for good in the copy you get.
- **Estimates are estimates.** Password strength scores, entropy figures and crack times rest on stated assumptions about attackers and are not guarantees.

## Your responsibilities

You are responsible for the files you process and for what you do with the results. Before you share anything, open the cleaned or covered copy and check it yourself. You are also responsible for having the right to handle the files and the people's images you work with, and for following the laws and rules that apply to you.

Do not use the site to break the law, to harm or harass others, to disguise the origin of work that is not yours, or to interfere with the site's operation, for example by flooding it with automated requests.

## Nothing is stored for you

There are no accounts. Because processing happens in your browser rather than on a server, the site has no copy to return if you lose a file, forget the password to an encrypted note, or close the tab before saving a result. Keep your originals until you are satisfied with the new copies, and keep any passwords you rely on somewhere safe. How the site handles information is described on the [privacy page](/privacy/).

## Limits on liability

To the extent the law allows, StartPrivate and its editors are not liable for any loss or damage arising from using or being unable to use the site, including information left in a file, information removed that you meant to keep, lost data, or decisions made on the basis of a tool's output. Some places do not allow certain limits on liability, in which case these limits apply only as far as permitted there.

## Third-party components

The tools include open-source software and data from other projects, each under its own license. The [licenses page](/licenses/) names each of them, its version and its license. Those licenses govern those components; nothing here restricts the rights they grant.

## Links to other sites

Pages cite outside sources and occasionally point to related tools elsewhere. Those sites are run by others, under their own terms and policies.

## Changes and contact

These terms may be updated as the site changes. The date under this text tells you when they were last revised. Questions about them can be sent to [hello@startprivate.com](mailto:hello@startprivate.com).

Last updated: 2026-10-16