We were supposed to be finished with files by now. For years, tech companies (well, certain tech companies) tooted their horns about a future in which files didn’t matter. You don’t even need a file manager of any sort, they told us—and, in fact, we won’t even let you see the file system on your devices at all. Just tap-a-tap-tap, don’t worry, be happy. Right? Yeah—not so much. Here in the year o’ 2025, files absolutely still matter. Whether you’re saving a PDF or document, wrangling an audio or video file, or trying to get that weird image format your iPhone-totin’ friend sent you into some reasonably standard state, files are an inevitable part of our digital lives. And dealing with ’em, suffice it to say, can be a real pain in the patootie—especially when it comes to the timeless act of converting something from one format to another. With the tool I’ve found for you today, though, that tired tech task won’t be a groan-worthy chore anymore. Get ready for the quality-of-life upgrade you never knew you needed. Unearth all sorts of little-known tech treasures with my free Cool Tools newsletter from The Intelligence. A spiffy new discovery in your inbox every Wednesday! File conversion, minus the headache Ordinarily, when I find myself facing a daunting file conversion task—be it moving an image file from one format to another, converting some awkward audio file into a more standard MP3 setup, or even freeing a document someone sent me from its silly DOCX shackles—I end up searching for a free online conversion tool. And the site I stumble onto is inevitably slow, overloaded with ads, and at least slightly questionable when it comes to security. Oh, and it also usually has some sort of arbitrary-seeming limit on the size or number of files I can process before it starts trying to charge me some exorbitant fee. No more. ➜ My fellow frustrated file wrangler, allow me to introduce you to a nifty new site called Vert​. Vert is a completely free and open-source online file conversion tool. It processes most files locally in your browser, almost shockingly fast and efficiently—and without any limits or any ads. ⌚ It’ll take you 20 seconds to start using: Just pull up the Vert site​ in any browser, on any device you’re using. Click the big “Drop or click to convert” box to select a file from your device—or drag and drop a file from the device into that area of the page, if you’d rather. One click or a drag-and-drop is all it takes to get going with Vert. Vert will then show you a confirmation screen where you can see your file, select your end format, and consider a few other simple options. Select your desired file type, and Vert will handle the rest. ✅ And that’s pretty much it: Just click or tap the “Convert all” button, and within a split second—yes, really that fast!—you’ll see the downward-arrow download button turn into a solid color. Your converted file will be ready to download in a matter of seconds. That’s your indication that the file conversion is finished. And all that’s left is to click or tap that button to download the final result. Told ya it was easy, right?! Vert runs entirely in your browser​—no downloads or installations whatsoever. It’s completely free to use, with ​optional donations​ to aid the development. And the app performs almost all of its processing locally on your own device, without any data ever being seen by anyone else. The one exception is a video file, which does get uploaded to a server. But Vert promises that video files always are deleted after exactly one hour. (And since the entire tool is ​open source​, anyone with the right know-how can see exactly what it is—and isn’t—doing to confirm.) Ready for more productivity-boosting goodness? Check out my free Cool Tools newsletter for an instant introduction to an exceptional audio app—and another off-the-beaten-path gem every Wednesday!