This Site Can Convert Files in Your Browser Without Downloading Them.
Sometimes you need to quickly convert an image, audio file, or video, so you look for an online tool. The problem: many online conversion tools are not safe to use , putting you at risk of malware or data mining.
Vert is different. It’s an open-source, browser-based tool that can convert the most common image, audio, video, and document formats. It’s not cluttered with ads, and you don’t have to create an account to use it. More importantly, the tool works (almost) entirely in your browser, meaning your files aren’t actually downloaded anywhere (except for video files, as I’ll explain below). I tested this by opening a website, turning off my Wi-Fi, and converting a large batch of images and documents. It worked.
Converting files without uploading them is good for privacy, but it’s also faster – you don’t have to wait for files to transfer from your computer to the server and back.
To get started with Vert, head to the site and add the files you want to convert by dragging them from the file manager or using the upload button. (The home page lists all the supported file types, if you’re curious—there are more than five dozen.) You can then choose a format and start the conversion, then hit the upload button to get your converted file.
You can also convert all your files to a single format and archive them into a single ZIP file. Note that this will only work if all the files you put into the tool are of the same type, i.e. videos, images, documents, or audio files. For example, a mixture of images and videos cannot be converted at the same time, as there is no single format you can convert them to.
It’s also worth noting that video files can’t be converted without uploading to a server, mainly because of how resource-intensive it is to do so in a browser. The tool will warn you before uploading anything. According to the website, videos are deleted from the server after the file is uploaded or an hour after uploading, whichever comes first. You can set up your own server if this really bothers you.
I think Vert is a very easy-to-use tool. I tested it with an EPUB file and was able to create both a Word document and a website. I also tested it with various images, audio files, and video – everything worked well and quickly. There are a few caveats. PDF files are not supported for import or export. And some of my older Word documents were throwing up error messages, which was odd but not entirely unexpected (the files in question were over 20 years old). Overall, though, it’s a very handy tool – worth bookmarking.