To extract text from a PDF, open a browser-based extractor and download the text as a plain .txt file in reading order. PDFs with a real text layer extract instantly; scanned or image-only pages are read with on-device OCR. It runs on your device, so the PDF is never uploaded, with no sign-up. Only the readable text is kept — fonts, images, and layout are not part of a plain-text file.
Sometimes you just need the words out of a PDF — to paste into a document, feed into another tool, or search. Here is how to pull the text out privately, including from scans.
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A born-digital PDF has a real text layer, so extraction is instant and accurate. A scanned PDF is a picture of the page, so its text must first be recognised with OCR — accuracy then depends on the scan quality, and the recognition engine downloads to your browser once on first use. Multi-column or heavily designed pages may not preserve the exact reading order; if you need the layout too, convert to Word instead of plain text.