A few of our products — PL Tools and PaperFinder among them — are free to use, with no account and no paywall. People reasonably ask how that works. Servers, domains, storage and the hours it takes to build and maintain software all cost money. So something has to cover it. For the free tools, that something is advertising, and we'd rather explain exactly how than leave it vague.
The deal we're comfortable with
There are really only a few ways to fund free software: charge for it, sell the users' data, or show ads. We've chosen ads — and specifically not the “sell your data” route. We don't sell your personal information, and we don't require you to hand over an account just to use a tool. The ads pay for the hosting; your files and your activity aren't the product.
How we try to keep ads bearable
- Limited. We'd rather show fewer, well-placed ads than wallpaper every screen. On PaperFinder, for example, ads appear sparingly around results, not in the middle of your reading.
- Clearly marked. An ad should always look like an ad, never like one of our own buttons or results.
- Out of the way. Ads shouldn't block the task you came to do. If one ever does, that's a bug we want to hear about.
What ads can and can't see
Our ads are served by Google AdSense. Like most advertising on the web, it can use cookies and similar technologies to show more relevant ads and to measure performance. That's standard, but you have real control over it: you can manage or turn off personalised advertising in your Google Ad Settings, and the full detail of what's collected and how to opt out is in our privacy policy. The ad system does not get access to the files you process in a tool or the API keys you may enter — those stay on your device.
The paid exceptions
Not everything we make is ad-supported. Some products — the Software Health Inspector and X Post Studio — are sold as paid licences instead. Those are bigger, specialised tools where a licence makes more sense than ads, and buying one is simply a different, equally honest way to keep the lights on.
If you'd rather not see ads
That's genuinely fine. Ad blockers are your choice and we won't nag you to turn them off or lock you out for using one. And if you love a tool and want to support it without ads, choosing one of our paid apps does exactly that. Either way, the goal is the same: useful software that's honest about how it stays free.
More in the journal, or read the full privacy policy.