Who we are
SmartSearch is an offline document search tool built and operated by Zaid Shaikh. This policy explains what happens to your data when you use the SmartSearch web application and this marketing site. If you have any question about this policy or about your data, contact us at contact@zaidshaikh.com.
What we do not collect
SmartSearch does not have user accounts, sign up forms, or login of any kind. We do not operate a database of users. We do not receive, store, or have any access to:
- The PDF files you add to the app
- The text extracted from those files
- The names or terms you search for
- Any search results you view
None of this data is ever transmitted to us, because SmartSearch has no server component that processes documents or searches. All parsing, phonetic matching, and optical character recognition happen entirely within your own browser.
What stays on your device
SmartSearch stores the following data locally, using your browser's own IndexedDB and localStorage, both of which are private to your device and are never transmitted anywhere by SmartSearch:
IndexedDB
- The original PDF files you add to the app, and the text extracted from them, used to power search and to display the document in the viewer
- Custom search rules you create
- A cached copy of the phonetic matching rules used for search
localStorage
- Your chosen display language
- Whether you have dismissed the install prompt
You control this data completely. Deleting a document within the app removes it immediately, including the original file. Clearing your browser's site data, or uninstalling the app if installed, removes everything. Because we never receive a copy of this data, we have no way to access, recover, or restore it on your behalf, and no way to hand it over to anyone else, including in response to a legal request, since it simply does not exist outside your device.
Third party services
SmartSearch is deliberately built to avoid third party requests wherever possible. All fonts, the OCR engine, and every core feature are self hosted and work fully offline. Two specific features are exceptions, and are described honestly below rather than glossed over.
Hindi and Marathi transliteration (Google Input Tools)
If you switch the on screen keyboard to Hindi or Marathi and begin typing, the word you are currently typing is sent to Google's Input Tools service at inputtools.google.com to suggest the matching Devanagari spelling. This requires an active internet connection. If you decline to use the Hindi or Marathi keyboard, or if you are offline, this request never happens, and the rest of the app, including search itself, continues to work fully offline. This transmission is governed by Google's own privacy policy. We recommend not typing sensitive names or terms while this feature is active if you would prefer that word never leave your device; typing in English, or using the Simple or Fuzzy search modes directly, avoids it entirely.
Product analytics (Umami)
We use Umami, a cookieless and privacy focused analytics tool, to understand which features are actually used so we can improve SmartSearch. Umami does not use cookies, does not store your IP address, and does not build a profile of you across visits. It records only anonymized counts and short labels, such as how many searches were performed, which search mode was selected, or whether files were added as a ZIP. It never receives the content of your documents, your search terms, or file names. You can read Umami's own privacy documentation at umami.is/privacy.
Cookies
SmartSearch does not set any cookies. The third party services described above may set their own cookies as part of their normal operation; that is outside our control and is governed by their own policies.
Legal basis for processing
For the transliteration feature, the limited data sent to Google is necessary to provide the specific function you have actively chosen to enable by switching the keyboard mode, consistent with Article 6(1)(b) of the GDPR. For analytics, we rely on our legitimate interest in understanding aggregate feature usage in order to maintain and improve the product, consistent with Article 6(1)(f), balanced against the minimal and non identifying nature of the data collected by a cookieless analytics tool.
International data transfers
Google's transliteration service and our analytics provider may process data outside your own country. Where this happens, those providers are responsible for maintaining appropriate safeguards for that transfer under their own policies.
Your rights
Because SmartSearch holds no personal data about you on any server, most data subject rights are already satisfied by the fact that your data exists only on your own device, under your own control. For completeness, you have the right to request access to, correction of, or deletion of any data we do hold, to object to or restrict our processing, to receive your data in a portable format, and to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. To exercise any of these rights or to ask a question, contact contact@zaidshaikh.com.
Children's privacy
SmartSearch is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect data from children through any means described in this policy.
Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, we will update the effective date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review it occasionally.
Contact us
For any question about this policy or your data, email contact@zaidshaikh.com.