You want to turn a short clip into a GIF, so you find a free online tool, drop your video in, and click a button. It works. But where did that video just go?
Most tools upload your file
For a lot of online GIF makers, the honest answer is: your video is sent to a stranger's server, converted there, and then handed back. That's usually fine for a meme, but it's a real problem if the clip is personal — a screen recording of private work, something with a face or a location, an internal demo.
Once a file leaves your device you're trusting that company's retention, security and honesty. Many state that uploads are deleted "after a while", but you have no way to check.
Browser-based tools keep the file local
AXS GIF runs the conversion in your browser using ffmpeg compiled to WebAssembly. Your video is read, processed and turned into a GIF on your own machine — it never travels to a server. That means:
- Nothing to upload, so nothing to leak.
- It works offline once the page has loaded.
- Private recordings stay private.
How to tell the difference
If a tool shows a progress bar labelled "uploading", your file is leaving. If conversion starts instantly and works with your connection off, it's local.
Try it with Video to GIF — or read how we handle files on the security page.