Here we’ll go over the security our users benefit from when using the Smallpdf eSign tool, and why document safety is so important.
Here we’ll go over the security our users benefit from when using the Smallpdf eSign tool, and why document safety is so important.
When you start using a new e-signature tool, you want to make sure that your document and signature are in safe hands, and with the countless different tools online, it’s difficult to tell which ones are trustworthy. To help put your mind at ease, here’s an overview of the security features you get when you use the Smallpdf eSign tool.
Why Should I Care About Security When Signing a Document?
Whether you’re an individual signing a single document, or someone that works with contracts on a daily basis, your signed documents almost always contain sensitive information that you don’t want to get into the wrong hands. Although the rise in electronic signature tools has been convenient, it can come with risks depending on the security of the software used. When signing documents online it’s a good idea to look for software where your data is encrypted and protected, and that produces verified and timestamped signatures, so you can be 100% sure that no unauthorized people can access your data, and that signatures haven’t been tampered with.
What Regulations Does Smallpdf Comply With?
At Smallpdf, document security is extremely important to us, which is why we’re ISO/IEC 27001 certified and GDPR compliant. On top of that, we also use advanced TLS encryption to make sure your PDFs are secure when used with any of our tools. But, what does any of this actually mean?
An ISO/IEC 27001 certification is recognized worldwide and ensures that excellent information safety and security management systems are in place.
GDPR, or General Data Protection Regulation, is a privacy and data protection law for EU and EEA countries.
And finally, Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol ensures that communication across a network is encrypted, meaning that when you sign or share a file with our tools they’re safe from tampering.
Take a look at our Privacy Policy for more information.
What Security Features Can I Expect With eSign?
Aside from the regulations Smallpdf complies with as a whole, all of our users also benefit from additional security features when using the eSign tool. Smallpdf is eIDAS compliant, which is an EU regulation regarding electronic transactions, and means that signed PDFs will have qualified electronic signatures. Additionally, we guarantee that all PDFs are erased from our servers 14 days after being uploaded to our tool or signed. This is of course unless you opt for storing your documents within your Smallpdf account, in which case your documents will be saved for as long as needed.
Is There a Difference in eSign Security Features Between a Free & Pro Account?
All of the security features relating to document safety when using the eSign tool are the same regardless of whether you have a free or paid account. However, there are additional features regarding the signature itself when you’re a Smallpdf Pro user.
To Pro users, we offer digital signatures, which differ from electronic signatures only slightly due to their extra safety features. Both electronic and digital signatures are legally binding, but the latter includes Long-Term Validation (LTV) timestamping, which acts as a digital stamp to show the date and time that the document was signed, and ensures the signature wasn’t tampered with. To ensure authentication even more, the eSign tool can also give additional information such as the signer’s name and verify their signature—so you know exactly when and by whom the document was signed.
If you don’t already have a Pro Account, you can sign up for a free trial to get unlimited access to all of the eSign features for up to 7 days.
