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Is it safe to paste a confidential contract or proposal into an online word counter?

With this one, yes. The word counter counts your text inside your browser using functions built into the browser itself; it does not send the text to any server or store it. Even the copy button and the result file carry only the numbers, not your text. So you can count a client contract or a tender proposal without it leaving your computer, and you can check that for yourself.

Published · 3 min read

What exactly happens to your text

  • When you paste into the Word and character counter, the text stays in the text box on the page open in front of you.
  • Counting uses the Unicode rules built into your browser, on your device, with no server involved.
  • The copy-result button copies the list of counts only: words, characters, lines and reading time, not the text.
  • The word-count.txt file you download is created on your device and contains the same counts only.
  • The tool saves the text nowhere. When you press 'Clear' or close the page, it is gone.

This matters more than it seems. Many freelancers count words in documents they do not own: a client contract, a technical proposal for a tender, an unpublished draft. Sending those to a service whose handling you do not know is a needless risk just to learn a number.

Check it yourself in a minute

You do not have to take our word for it. Two simple ways to confirm:

  1. Open the counter page, then disconnect your device from the internet or switch on airplane mode. Paste some text and type into it. The counts keep updating as usual, because counting does not need the network at all.
  2. On a computer, open the browser's developer tools (usually F12), choose the Network tab, then paste your text. Watch the list: counting adds no request carrying your text.

The first method suits anyone; the second gives a clearer picture if you want to see everything the page exchanges with the network.

What remains your responsibility

  • Your own device: if it is shared, clear the text when you are done and close the page.
  • The clipboard: the text you copied from the document stays on your clipboard until you copy something else.
  • Browser extensions: some extensions can read what is on a page. That is outside the tool, so review your installed extensions if the text is highly sensitive.
  • The source: if you copied from a cloud document, that document still lives in that service. The tool does not change that.

Are other counters different?

Some online counters send the text to their server to count it or to offer extra 'analysis'. You cannot tell from the look of the page. The same airplane-mode test works on any tool: if it stops working once you are offline, it depends on a server, and your text is most likely being sent to it.

Common questions

Can I use the counter completely offline?

Once the page is open, yes. Counting itself needs no network, but opening the page the first time does.

Is my text kept if I reload the page?

The tool does not save it. Some browsers restore a text box's contents when you navigate back to a page, so press 'Clear' before leaving if you like.