u/Diamanthau

Built a free browser-based image/PDF tools site over the last month: pixelcorelab.com https://www.pixelcorelab.com/tools https://www.pixelcorelab.com/tools/background-remover

The main differentiator is that everything runs locally in the browser — no files uploaded, no signup, no ads, no tracking. Most "free tool" sites I've looked at either upload your files to a server or are ad-supported (or both).

But I'm not sure if that comes across when people first land on the page. I'm too close to it now to judge.

Specifically I'd love feedback on:

1. Within ~5 seconds of landing, is it clear that nothing gets uploaded?
2. Does the homepage explain *why* that matters, or does it just feel like marketing fluff?
3. If you tried one of the tools (e.g. background remover or HEIC converter), did anything feel off — speed, UI, trust?

Not looking for "looks great!" — would much rather hear what's confusing or unconvincing. Honest critique appreciated.

Tech stack for context: Next.js, WebAssembly, Canvas API. Everything client-side.

Disclosure: Some friends and I built this

I got tired of how every "free" web service today is built on the opposite of what made the early web good, trackers, sign-ups, watermarks, daily caps, ads. So we built pixelcorelab.com to be the inverse.

Everything runs entirely in your browser. Nothing uploads. No sign-up, no email, no watermarks, no daily limits.

The flagship is a background remover (pixelcorelab.com/tools/background-remover) — full resolution, browser-only, with a brush editor that has both erase and restore brushes plus stylus pressure sensitivity for fixing edges. There's writing on the site too, mostly about Pi and homelab.

No Google Analytics, no cookies, no consent banner, no ads. Analytics is self-hosted Umami on a Raspberry Pi at home, plus Vercel's cookieless layer. Umami counts pageviews and aggregate engagement only, no cross-site tracking, no profiles.

If you find anything that breaks the privacy claims, let us know.