/ghost Hey everyone, Whenever people need to compress a PDF...
Prompt
/ghost Hey everyone, Whenever people need to compress a PDF, strip location metadata from an image, or redact an ID/tax document, the top Google results are almost always ad-riddled cloud converters (SmallPDF, iLovePDF, random online tools). Most people don't realize they are uploading sensitive personal files directly to third-party AWS/GCP buckets. To solve this for myself, I built **Localism**: an open-source suite of utility tools where files literally never leave your local device. ### How it works technically: - **No Server Processing:** All transcoding, compression, and hashing happen inside your browser using WebAssembly (FFmpeg WASM), Web Workers, and Web Crypto APIs. - **Zero Telemetry:** No Google Analytics, no PostHog, no Meta pixels, no fingerprinting scripts. - **Works in Airplane Mode:** Once the page loads, cut your internet connection completely. The tools still function normally. ### What it currently does: 1. **EXIF & Metadata Scrubber:** Strips GPS coordinates and camera signatures from images in-memory. 2. **Document & ID Safe-Watermarker:** Stamps verification text and blackout-redacts sensitive numbers on local canvas without raw file leakage. 3. **Local Video/Audio Transcoder:** Trims and converts MP4/WebM/MP3 via browser WASM. 4. **Streaming Hash Verifier:** Computes SHA-256 and MD5 on multi-GB files in chunks without crashing your browser RAM. ### Verify it yourself: Don't take my word for it: 1. Open the site: [https://your-domain.run](https://your-domain.run) 2. Press `F12` and open the **Network** tab. 3. Drop a file and run a conversion. You will see **0 outbound HTTP/WebSocket requests**. 4. Audit the full source code on GitHub: [https://github.com/yourusername/localism](https://github.com/yourusername/localism) (Licensed under AGPLv3). It’s completely free because it costs me nothing to run—your own CPU and RAM do the work. Hope this helps anyone looking to handle sensitive files safely. Feedback and code audits are welcome!
