LimiFile
Privacy-first image processing in your browser
I’ve finished preparing LimiFile’s Product Hunt launch for September 12.
LimiFile is a free, open-source collection of browser-based image tools for:
converting
compressing
resizing
removing metadata
Selected images are processed on the user’s device and are not uploaded to a LimiFile server.
I’d especially like feedback on which image or file tasks people still find unnecessarily annoying.
I’ve been building LimiFile, a free collection of browser-based image tools.
The product makes a fairly specific privacy claim: selected images are processed on the user’s device and are not uploaded to a LimiFile server.
At first, I thought of that mostly as an architecture decision.
Then I realized it was also something I could accidentally break later.
A future refactor could introduce a network call in the wrong place, or pass a selected file into something that sends data elsewhere. “It runs in the browser” wouldn’t protect me from that.
So I added regression tests around the claim itself.
For several processing flows, the tests watch browser APIs such as fetch, XMLHttpRequest, FormData, and, for PNG compression, sendBeacon. The goal is to catch selected File / Blob data being passed into a path that could transmit it.
The tests don’t cover every tool and every possible path yet, so I don’t treat them as proof that transmission is impossible. They’re a regression barrier for the flows they cover today.
I also open-sourced the full web app so the processing code, tests, analytics layer, build configuration, and dependencies can be inspected.
LimiFile currently handles things like HEIC / HEIF → JPG, image compression, PNG / WebP / AVIF conversion, EXIF / GPS removal, fixed-size compression, and signature resizing.
It’s still early, and I’m trying to avoid adding tools just to make the list longer.
I’d especially like feedback on:
whether processing selected images locally actually matters to you
which image or file problems still make you go looking for another tool
anything about the privacy wording that sounds unclear or stronger than the implementation supports
Website: https://limifile.com/
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The fact that you’re testing the privacy claim itself is interesting.
Curious whether users actually notice or care about local processing when choosing between otherwise similar tools.
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I’m still figuring that out. I think local processing has value, but I’m not sure yet how much it affects tool choice. That’s why I keep the privacy claim visible and testable.
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1That makes sense. The interesting test will probably be whether users bring up the privacy angle unprompted, rather than simply agreeing that local processing sounds better.
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