PDF: Private Document Fortress — End-User Licence Agreement

Last updated: 1 November 2026

Effective date: 1 November 2026
Publisher and licensor: Elijah Wong
Support and legal enquiries: support@free-pdf.xyz

In plain terms

The publisher's App is licensed for use, not sold or offered as open-source software. You may use an authorised copy for personal, professional or internal business purposes under this agreement. Your documents and output remain yours, subject to rights in material you supply. The App includes separately licensed third-party components whose rights and notices remain intact. Keep originals and backups and check important edits and exports. Liability limits below apply only where lawful and enforceable; mandatory consumer rights remain protected.

1. Agreement, scope and authority

This agreement governs the publisher-owned software, documentation and other materials supplied as PDF: Private Document Fortress (the “App”). It is between you and Elijah Wong (“we”, “us” or the “Publisher”), not Apple. We, not Apple, are responsible for the App and its content. Obtain the terms before accepting them through the applicable App Store process or another express agreement. If you do not agree, do not accept the licence or use the App; any mandatory refund or other remedy remains available.

If you accept on behalf of an organisation, you confirm you have authority to bind it. If you lack legal capacity to enter this agreement, a legally authorised representative must accept where permitted by applicable law and the distribution service. No representation about age or authority overrides mandatory law.

The App is currently offered without charge and without subscriptions or in-app purchases. A free download does not grant ownership, source-code access or permission to modify or redistribute publisher-owned software. We may price future offerings separately; there are no automatic charges under this agreement.

2. Limited licence and reserved rights

Subject to this agreement, we grant you a limited, non-exclusive and non-transferable licence to install and use an authorised copy of the App on Apple-branded devices you own or control, as permitted by the applicable Apple Media Services Usage Rules. Permitted Family Sharing and volume-purchasing access is included. You may make backup copies necessary for authorised use to the extent permitted by applicable law and Apple's rules.

You may use the App for personal, professional and internal business work, including creating and processing commercial documents. This licence does not authorise resale, rehosting, sublicensing or distribution of the App itself, or making it available as a hosted service for third parties, except where separately agreed in writing or expressly permitted by mandatory law or an applicable third-party licence.

The Publisher and other applicable rights holders retain ownership of their software, documentation, artwork, branding and other intellectual property. All rights not expressly granted are reserved. Possession of readable scripts, source files or development materials does not itself grant rights to modify, publish or redistribute publisher-owned material. We do not undertake to provide proprietary source code, development records or signing material.

3. Restrictions and lawful exceptions

Except to the extent expressly permitted by mandatory law, a separate written licence from us, or a licence applicable to a third-party component, you must not:

These restrictions do not limit statutory rights concerning backup copies, interoperability, testing, security research or other activities where the relevant right cannot lawfully be excluded. They do not impose restrictions on independently licensed third-party components beyond their own licences. No permission to use our names, logos or marks for endorsement is granted.

4. Third-party software, services and models

The App includes open-source and other third-party components. Their copyright notices, licence texts and any required attribution or notices are supplied with the App and accessible through Help → Privacy & Legal → View third-party notices. Those licences apply to the relevant components and take precedence over conflicting provisions of this agreement for those components. This agreement does not convert third-party code into the Publisher's exclusive property or remove rights its licence grants.

You must comply with applicable third-party terms when using the App, Apple services, external websites or separately obtained model weights. Downloaded models may have use restrictions, storage and hardware requirements, and separate licence terms. We do not promise the continued availability, compatibility, accuracy or support of independently operated services or models. Third-party warranties and disclaimers apply according to their terms and mandatory law; they do not remove obligations legally imposed on us.

5. Your documents and authorised processing

You retain your rights in documents, images, text, annotations, signatures and other material you supply. The App's software licence does not transfer ownership of that material or automatically apply to documents or output merely because the App processed them. You are responsible for having the rights, authority and permissions necessary to process and share the material. We do not guarantee that output is exclusive, copyrightable or free of third-party rights.

You authorise the local operations you request, such as opening, editing, converting, compressing, rendering, OCR and saving. This does not grant us a right to publish your documents or train a model on them. Information you choose to send to support is handled under the Privacy Policy. No general licence to collect your document content is created by this agreement.

The App provides PDF viewing and editing, annotations and comments, page organisation, visual signatures, redaction, password protection, compression and export; Markdown and image tools; OCR; and optional on-device assistance called Custōs. Local model assistance requires compatible model files and sufficient device resources. Availability and results depend on the file and operation.

6. Backups, verification and important limitations

Maintain independent originals and suitable backups. Check saved and exported files before relying on or sharing them, especially after editing, conversion, redaction, password changes or automated assistance. This is a responsibility to take reasonable precautions; it does not waive remedies or excuse defects for which we remain legally responsible.

OCR and document conversion may omit, misread, alter or rearrange content. Local AI answers and suggested corrections can be inaccurate, incomplete or misleading. Check them against the original. The App does not provide legal, medical, financial or other professional advice and is not intended for uses requiring guaranteed or fail-safe accuracy, availability or confidentiality.

Drawn and saved image signatures are visual marks, not certificate-backed digital signatures. They do not independently verify identity, consent, authority or legal validity. Image signatures may be resized and have their white background removed; light-coloured marks can change appearance. Only use signatures with the necessary authority and inspect the placed result.

PDF password protection uses standard AES-256 encryption for the saved encrypted copy. It does not encrypt every local working file, saved signature, model, clipboard item or backup. Passwords are handled locally and may be written to a temporary configuration file during the operation; see the Privacy Policy. We do not provide password recovery.

Use the redaction operation to remove supported document content; placing an opaque shape or highlight over content does not securely remove it. Inspect the exported result, including searchable text, annotations and metadata. No single edit is a promise that every copy or hidden item in a document has been removed.

PDF compression creates a separate copy. Balanced and Smaller File settings can reduce image resolution and JPEG quality; Lossless may produce little or no reduction. Compression is not redaction, metadata removal or a confidentiality guarantee. Review fine print, scans, diagrams, signatures and forms in the result.

The App does not guarantee that every PDF, embedded object, font, form or damaged file can be processed without limitations. Local files, signatures, caches and temporary material are not automatically protected by separate app-level encryption. Unlocking an encrypted document can create decrypted working material. Your device security, backups, permissions, clipboard and sharing choices affect confidentiality. See the Privacy Policy for details.

7. Privacy

The Privacy Policy at https://free-pdf.xyz/privacy explains local processing, temporary and diagnostic files, optional model downloads, Apple diagnostics, support and website processing. This agreement does not expand the processing described there. Changes to a policy do not by themselves authorise new uses of previously collected information, and any legally required notice or consent must still be provided or obtained.

8. Support, updates and availability

Direct questions, complaints, claims and support requests to support@free-pdf.xyz. We provide maintenance and support required by law and any services we expressly promise. Apple has no obligation to provide maintenance or support for the App.

Except where required by law or expressly promised, we do not undertake to provide a particular response time, new features, updates, compatibility with future systems or support indefinitely. Updates may address safety, legal, technical or compatibility requirements. We may discontinue future distribution or support subject to mandatory obligations and any existing commitment. These terms do not authorise deletion of your documents or remote interference with an authorised copy.

Updates may be accompanied by revised terms disclosed before acceptance. New terms apply prospectively as lawfully agreed; merely posting them does not retrospectively remove accrued rights, impose charges or change an existing contract where affirmative agreement is required.

9. Warranty exclusions and statutory rights

TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE APP AND ACCOMPANYING INFORMATION ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE”. EXCEPT FOR WARRANTIES OR OTHER RIGHTS THAT CANNOT LAWFULLY BE EXCLUDED AND ANY EXPRESS WRITTEN COMMITMENT WE MAKE, WE DISCLAIM EXPRESS, IMPLIED AND STATUTORY WARRANTIES, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, SATISFACTORY QUALITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT, TO THE EXTENT EACH DISCLAIMER IS LAWFUL.

We do not warrant uninterrupted operation, compatibility with every file, preservation of every layout or metadata item, error-free output, complete security, or the accuracy of automated results. No informal advice creates an additional warranty unless an authorised written commitment or applicable law provides otherwise. Nothing here excludes a binding express representation or liability for misrepresentation where exclusion would be unlawful.

Nothing in this agreement excludes or restricts mandatory consumer guarantees or remedies, liability for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited. Exclusions and limits subject to a statutory reasonableness or fairness requirement apply only where that requirement is satisfied. A general saving provision does not itself establish that a particular clause is enforceable.

We, not Apple, are responsible for applicable product warranties. If an App Store copy fails to conform to an applicable warranty, you may notify Apple and Apple will refund any purchase price paid for that copy. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Apple has no other warranty obligation concerning the App; other resulting claims, losses, liabilities, damages, costs and expenses are our responsibility to the extent imposed by applicable law. The current App is free.

10. Limits of liability

This section is subject to section 9 and all mandatory law. It applies to claims concerning the App under contract, tort including negligence, or another legal theory, only to the extent the particular exclusion or limitation is lawful, fair and reasonable. It does not restrict Apple's mandatory responsibilities or remedies under the App Store terms.

For business users, to the extent permitted by law, we exclude liability for indirect, consequential, special, exemplary and punitive losses, and for loss of profits, revenue, business opportunities, goodwill, anticipated savings, or business interruption arising from use of or inability to use the App. These business-loss exclusions apply whether the particular business loss is characterised as direct or indirect, only where that exclusion is lawful.

For consumers, we do not accept liability for loss that was not reasonably foreseeable when the agreement was made, or loss attributable to your breach or unreasonable failure to take precautions that actually caused or increased that loss, but only where the applicable law permits that position. This is not a blanket exclusion of liability for loss or corruption of documents, property damage or a defect for which a consumer remedy is mandatory.

For business users only, our total aggregate liability for claims connected with the App is limited to the greater of HKD 100 and the amounts paid by you for the App in the twelve months preceding the event giving rise to the claim, except for liabilities preserved by section 9 and to the extent this cap is enforceable. This agreement imposes no fixed monetary cap on mandatory consumer remedies. Each exclusion and limitation is intended to operate separately; none is a representation that a court will enforce another.

11. Responsibility for claims and limited business indemnity

We, not Apple, are responsible for addressing claims concerning the App or your possession or use of it, including product liability, compliance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements, consumer protection and privacy claims. For a third-party claim that the App or its possession or use infringes intellectual property rights, we, not Apple, are responsible for investigation, defence, settlement and discharge to the extent required by applicable law and the App Store terms. This provision does not give you an additional unlimited contractual warranty or indemnity beyond obligations otherwise imposed on us.

If you use the App in a business capacity, you will indemnify us against reasonable, documented liabilities and external defence costs awarded or agreed in relation to third-party claims to the extent caused by your unlawful content, unauthorised use of another person's signature or material, or material breach of section 3. This indemnity does not cover our negligence, breach, infringement or unlawful conduct, and does not apply to consumers. We must promptly notify you of the claim, allow reasonable participation in its defence and take reasonable steps to mitigate loss. No settlement imposing an admission, payment or non-monetary obligation on you may be made without your consent, which must not be unreasonably withheld. This indemnity operates only where lawful and reasonable.

12. Termination and enforcement

The licence continues until terminated under this section. You may terminate it by discontinuing use and deleting your copies, subject to lawful backup and retention rights. We may terminate your licence for a material breach that you fail to remedy within fourteen days after written notice where remedy is possible. We may terminate immediately where the breach cannot reasonably be remedied or continued use is unlawful or creates a serious security or intellectual-property risk, to the extent the law permits.

On lawful termination, stop using and remove publisher-owned copies except where law requires or permits retention. Your documents remain yours. Separate third-party licences and rights they preserve are not terminated by us. Terms that by their nature must continue, including accrued payment obligations, ownership, lawful restrictions, liability provisions and dispute provisions, survive only to the extent applicable and enforceable.

We may seek remedies available under applicable law for infringement or breach, including injunctive relief where its legal requirements are satisfied. This is not an automatic entitlement to an injunction or a waiver of your defences, statutory rights or a court's discretion.

13. Apple-specific terms

This agreement is concluded between you and the Publisher only, not Apple. The Publisher, not Apple, is responsible for the App and its content. The following provisions apply to the App Store copy, together with the corresponding provisions elsewhere in this agreement.

Scope. The licence is non-transferable and permits use on Apple-branded devices you own or control under the applicable Apple Media Services Usage Rules, including permitted Family Sharing and volume-purchasing access.

Maintenance and support. The Publisher is responsible for maintenance and support specified in this agreement or required by law. Apple has no obligation to furnish maintenance or support.

Warranty. If the App fails to conform to an applicable warranty, you may notify Apple and Apple will refund any purchase price paid. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Apple has no other warranty obligation; other resulting claims, losses, liabilities, damages, costs and expenses are the Publisher's responsibility as described in section 9.

Product claims. The Publisher, not Apple, is responsible for addressing claims concerning the App or your possession or use of it, including product liability, legal or regulatory compliance, consumer protection and privacy claims, as described in section 11.

Intellectual property. In the event of a third-party claim that the App or your possession or use infringes intellectual property rights, the Publisher, not Apple, is responsible for investigation, defence, settlement and discharge as required by the applicable App Store terms.

Third-party agreements. You must comply with applicable third-party terms when using the App and related services; separately licensed components retain their own terms as described in section 4.

Legal compliance.

You represent and warrant that you are not located in a country subject to a United States government embargo or designated by that government as supporting terrorism, and are not listed on a United States government prohibited or restricted-party list. Comply with applicable export, sanctions and other laws.

Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of this agreement and, upon your acceptance, have the right, and are deemed to have accepted the right, to enforce it against you as third-party beneficiaries. The applicable Apple Media Services Usage Rules and mandatory App Store terms remain effective. This agreement does not impose usage rules that conflict with those terms.

14. Governing law and disputes

This agreement is governed by the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, subject to mandatory protections that apply to you. For business users, Hong Kong courts have exclusive jurisdiction where that agreement is lawful and enforceable. For consumers, jurisdiction is non-exclusive and any mandatory right to bring proceedings in your home jurisdiction remains intact. There is no mandatory arbitration, class-action waiver or shortened statutory claim period in this agreement.

You may contact us to try to resolve an issue informally, but doing so is not a condition of exercising a statutory remedy and does not stop a limitation period from running unless the law or a separate agreement provides otherwise.

15. General provisions

This agreement, any express written licence or commitment supplied with the App, and applicable mandatory App Store terms govern their respective subjects. Third-party component licences retain priority for those components. The Privacy Policy explains processing and is not a substitute for a software licence. Nothing here excludes reliance, remedies or terms where exclusion would be unlawful.

A waiver must be express; a failure or delay to enforce a right does not itself waive it. If a term is invalid or unenforceable, it is severed to the extent legally possible and the remainder continues, provided doing so is lawful and does not defeat mandatory protections. You may not assign this agreement except where permitted by Apple’s rules, mandatory law or our written consent. Any assignment by us remains subject to applicable law and must not reduce non-waivable rights. No provision permits us to relicense another rights holder's software or take ownership of your content.

16. Contact

Questions, complaints and claims about this agreement or the App may be directed to Elijah Wong at support@free-pdf.xyz.