Private IFC viewer — your models never get uploaded

Bimlyte is a private, local-first IFC viewer: it processes your model in your browser and does not upload it to an external server.

Review BIM models without sending project files to a third-party platform for processing — useful for workflows with strict file-handling requirements.

Open Bimlyte(opens in a new tab)Privacy

The problem with most online viewers

Many online IFC viewers work by uploading your model to their servers first. For confidential designs, client models or controlled project environments, that may not be permitted.

The distinction that matters is not browser versus desktop; it is whether the model leaves the device. A browser tool can do either, and the two are easy to confuse.

How Bimlyte keeps your model private

Bimlyte is local-first by design:

  • Your IFC model is processed client-side, in your browser.
  • Files are not uploaded to an external server for viewing.
  • Your work is stored on your device, in the browser's Origin Private File System.
  • Nothing leaves your device unless you deliberately share it.

What you can tell a client or an IT department

"We don't upload" is a claim. These are the structural consequences behind it, which is usually what a review actually asks about:

  • There is no project-data backend, so there is no server-side copy of your model — not one we choose not to look at, one that does not exist. It cannot be breached, subpoenaed or restored, including by us.
  • There is no account, so there is no user database, no password store and no project history tied to a person.
  • Under GDPR, we are not a processor of your project data, because we never receive it. There is no data-processing agreement to negotiate for the models themselves.
  • There is no vendor lock-in on the data: your issues export as standard BCF, and a project exports as a .bimlyte package you hold.
  • Nothing about this depends on a policy we could quietly change — it follows from an architecture with no server in the path.

One honest distinction: the app and this website

The Bimlyte app is what handles your models, and it is local-first as described above. This marketing website is a separate, ordinary website: it counts visits with cookieless, aggregated visitor statistics, and uses Google Analytics only if you consent to it.

The two are worth keeping apart when you explain this to someone, because conflating them is the fastest way to have the whole claim doubted.

When a private IFC viewer matters

  • Confidential or commercially sensitive models.
  • Client projects with strict file-handling requirements.
  • Early design models you don't want exposed.
  • Internal coordination files that shouldn't go to third-party platforms.
  • Public-sector or defence work where the upload itself needs approval.

Share on your terms

When you do want to hand a project over, you can export a .bimlyte package and optionally protect it with a password. You decide what gets shared, with whom, and by what route — there is no shared drive in the middle.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use Bimlyte for projects with confidential models?

Bimlyte processes the model locally and does not upload it to a third-party service for processing. This can support workflows with confidential files, but the responsible project or IT team must confirm compliance with the applicable contract, client policy and device-security requirements.

Always follow your own project's data-handling rules as well.

Is Bimlyte GDPR-compliant for my project data?

For your project models and BCF data, the question does not really arise: we never receive them, so we are not a processor of that data and there is nothing on our side to govern.

This website is separate: it counts visits with cookieless, aggregated visitor statistics, and uses Google Analytics only with your consent — both are covered by the website Privacy Policy.

Where is my data stored?

Your models and BCF work are stored on your own device, in your browser's Origin Private File System.

Clearing your browser storage removes them, so export a .bimlyte package if you want a copy to keep.

Could Bimlyte recover my project if I lose it?

No, and that is the direct trade-off of the design: with no server-side copy there is nothing for us to restore from.

This is why exporting a .bimlyte package matters — it is your backup, and it is the same property that means nobody else can read your models either.

Review your model privately

A local-first IFC viewer that keeps confidential models on your device.

Open Bimlyte(opens in a new tab)Back to home

No installation. No upload. No account required.