Artwork in the browser: what stays local and what reaches a server?

1. Image selection and export can happen locally

In Icons, browser code reads your artwork. The engine renders the composition and saves finished images as files. Creating a PNG does not require a separate request uploading the source to the backend: Canvas and Blob can handle this.

This is the basic workflow in the Icons byFox generator: choose an image, arrange the composition and download an export without uploading your artwork to the generator's server. Do not extend this description to every site feature or other tools found online.

2. Local processing does not mean no network connections

The page itself must download application code and assets. In Icons, fonts come from Bunny Fonts, and the site also includes analytics and advertising mechanisms. These connections are separate from processing your selected artwork and may transmit connection or usage data.

Keep two questions separate: whether the image leaves your device and what other data the page sends. The Privacy panel describes the particular site version. For confidential company materials, also consider organisational policies rather than relying only on the claim that a tool “runs in the browser”.

3. Remembered settings are not a backup

A browser can retain editor configuration, theme and interface settings between visits. This data belongs to that browser and domain. Opening the generator on another computer will not automatically restore the same project.

After a refresh, you may need to select your image file again. Use a saved ZIP to return to the complete work, not just configuration left in the browser. Clearing site data or changing browser profiles can remove local settings.

4. ZIPs also carry source materials

Save project in Icons downloads an archive with settings, added formats, custom artwork and wallpapers. You can reopen it later with Load project. Icon export ZIPs also contain data for returning to editing.

This is convenient for handing work over but changes what you send someone. The recipient may receive original artwork, not just finished icons. Check the archive before sharing it. To share only final PNGs, select them from the package rather than sending the whole project.

5. Long and shortened links have different data flows

An Icons sharing link contains project settings, text and filenames, but not custom images. The recipient must select those separately. A link is therefore not equivalent to a complete archive and may reveal text entered into the project even without images.

Project data is placed in the URL fragment after #. Browsers normally do not send the fragment in an HTTP request, but page scripts can read it. When you choose Shorten URL, the app deliberately sends this data to the backend and stores the full link on the server to reconstruct the redirect later. This is not an encrypted vault for confidential information.

6. How can you check a tool's behaviour yourself?

Open the browser's Network panel, clear requests and choose a harmless test file. Observe image selection, normal export and link shortening separately. Check request bodies as well as URLs. Do not publish screenshots containing private text or tokens.

This inspection helps explain specific operations, but one observation does not prove an entire app is secure. Behaviour depends on code version, active features and external scripts. Data flow descriptions should evolve with the product.

When designing a Laravel web app, define this division before implementation: which operations need a backend, what can run locally and how users should save and delete their work.

Documentation for your next steps

Use installation instructions that match the versions in your project. The sources below cover these topics in more detail.

• Icons byFox — icon generator
• Icons byFox — saving and restoring projects
• MDN — creating a file from Canvas with toBlob()
• MDN — localStorage
• MDN — URL fragments