# Settings and privacy

> Every vivePDF settings section, what Help › Privacy says goes online, and how to remove the data kept on this computer in Settings › Data.

URL: https://vivepdf.com/en/docs/settings-privacy/
Last updated: 2026-10-18

All of vivePDF's preferences live in **Settings**: appearance, startup, where results are saved, reading, presentation, tools, updates and data. vivePDF collects no personal data; **Help › Privacy** lists when the app touches the network and what it keeps on this computer, and **Settings › Data** removes it.

## Opening Settings

Open Settings from the top bar. The list on the left gathers the sections into three groups: **Application**, **Viewing** and **System and data**. If you do not know where a setting lives, type its name into **Search settings…** at the top. Language and theme changes apply immediately.

## The sections

### Application

- **Appearance**: language, theme (Light, Dark, or System to follow the Windows theme), **Interface scale**, **Interface zoom** and **Reduce motion**.
- **Startup and privacy**: **Continue where I left off**, **Remember recent files**, **Keep operation history**, **Ask before closing**, **Keep a backup before saving**, **Keep running in the tray** and **Start with the system**.
- **Files**: whether tools write their result **Next to the source** or to a **Fixed folder**, the file **Name pattern**, and what happens **After an operation** (do nothing, show in Explorer or open the file).
- **Web**: the **Search engine** for the Viewer's right-click menu, the online check for new passwords, and **Offline mode**.

### Viewing

- **Viewer**: thumbnail size, default side panels, **Opening zoom**, two-page view, text selection colour, **Author name for comments** and **Reload when the file changes**.
- **Reading & read aloud**: reading mode defaults, speech rate, default voice, offline voice models and translation languages.
- **Presentation**: pen, laser pointer and spotlight defaults, and whether drawings are **Temporary** or kept as **Permanent notes**. See [Present a PDF](https://vivepdf.com/en/docs/present/) for more.

### System and data

- **Tools**: OCR language packs, the LibreOffice-based **Office converter**, the default OCR language and the default compression.
- **Updates**: the installed version, **Check for updates** and **Check automatically at startup**. Installing always asks you first; see [Installation](https://vivepdf.com/en/docs/installation/).
- **System** (Windows): **Open PDF files with vivePDF**, Windows default apps, an Explorer **Context menu** and a “Send to” shortcut.
- **Data**: everything stored on this computer, described below.
- **Feedback**: **Report a bug**, **Suggest a feature**, the **Log folder** and **Diagnostics**, which copies version details to the clipboard.

## Help › Privacy

Open **Privacy** from the **Help** menu in the top bar. The page shows two lists:

- **Network access**: documents, passwords and certificates never leave this computer. Only things you start go online: update checks, voice models, language packs, fonts and LibreOffice when you click **Download** or **Install**, web search, turning a web page into a PDF, DOI lookups, the optional leaked-password check and a timestamp while signing. Bug reports are never sent automatically.
- **Stored on this computer**: recent files, the session snapshot, settings, the path of the certificate you signed with (never its password), backups, the search index, operation history, watch-folder rules, saved signatures, downloaded packs and the local log file.

The top of the page also shows whether [Offline mode](https://vivepdf.com/en/docs/offline/) is on or off; **Open setting** takes you straight to the switch.

## Settings › Data

This section shows everything that is stored, with a count, and lets you remove each item:

- **Recent files** and **Operation history**: **Clear**.
- **Session snapshot**: **Delete**.
- **Remembered certificate path**: **Forget**.
- **Search index**: **Clear all**; indexed folders then have to be indexed again from the Search page.
- **Search history**, **Saved signatures**, **Watch-folder rules** and **Saved batch chains**: **Clear**.
- **Remembered chain passwords**: **Forget all** removes them from the system keychain.

> **Removed data does not come back**
>
> Most clear and delete actions ask you to confirm first. What you remove cannot be restored.

**Reset all settings** returns your preferences to their defaults only; recent files, history, saved signatures, chains and watch rules are kept. If you tick **Also delete saved signatures, chains, watch rules and presets** in the confirmation, those are deleted for good as well.

Downloaded language packs and voice models are removed in their own sections (**Tools**, **Reading & read aloud**); backups and the log file stay in their folders. More about the log file is on [Troubleshooting](https://vivepdf.com/en/docs/troubleshooting/).