Protect PDF
Password protect a PDF so it cannot be opened without the password, and optionally restrict printing, copying and editing. Encryption happens on your own device.
Drop your file here
or click to browse
There is no recovery. If this is lost, the file cannot be opened by anyone — including us.
Restrictions are enforced by the reader app, not by the encryption. Treat them as a clear signal of intent rather than a hard guarantee.
- ProcessingOn your device
- Uploaded to a serverNothing
- InternetNot needed
Don't take our word for it. Turn off your Wi‑Fi, then use this tool. It will work exactly the same, which is only possible because your file never goes anywhere.
Worth knowing
The password is real AES encryption — without it the file genuinely cannot be opened. The printing, copying and editing restrictions are a weaker thing: they're flags that reader apps agree to honour, and some readers ignore them. Treat them as a clear statement of intent, not a guarantee.
How to password protect a PDF: two kinds of password
PDF supports two separate passwords, and they do very different jobs. Choosing the wrong one is the usual reason a protected document does not behave the way its author expected.
The open password
An open password — sometimes called a user password — encrypts the file. Without it the document cannot be read at all, by anyone, in any reader. This is real protection, and it is what you want for a payslip, a contract or anything going over email that must not be readable if it is forwarded to the wrong address.
The permissions password
A permissions password — an owner password — leaves the document readable and sets flags asking readers to disallow printing, copying or editing. It is a request rather than a lock. Well-behaved software honours it; software that chooses not to can ignore it entirely. Use it to signal intent, not to guarantee anything.
Choosing a password worth setting
- Length beats complexity. A phrase of four unrelated words is stronger and easier to relay over the phone than eight scrambled characters.
- Never send the password in the same message as the file. A separate channel is the entire point.
- Avoid anything derived from the document — the recipient's date of birth or account number is a bad choice precisely because it is in there.
- Store it somewhere before you send it. There is no recovery.
There is no back door
Encryption without recovery is what makes it worth doing. Nobody — not this site, not Adobe — can open an encrypted PDF without its password. Keep the unprotected original, and treat the protected file as the copy you send rather than the copy you keep.
Related reading: removing a password you already have, and what other PDF sites do with your file.
Questions people ask
What if I forget the password?
The file can't be opened — by you or by anyone. There's no recovery and no back door, which is the whole point of encryption. Store it somewhere safe before you close the tab.
Do you see my password?
No. It's used in your browser's own memory and never sent anywhere. There is no server here to send it to — you can disconnect from the internet and this still works.
How strong is the encryption?
AES, the same standard used to protect banking and government files. The weak point is never the algorithm, it's the password — a short or obvious one can be guessed regardless of how good the encryption is.
Which password should I use for an email attachment?
The open password. It encrypts the file, so a message delivered to the wrong person is unreadable. A permissions password would leave it wide open.
Can the recipient remove the password?
Yes, once they can open it. Someone who knows the password can save an unlocked copy — which is normal and expected, since protection is about transit rather than about controlling them afterwards.
Does protecting a PDF change its content?
No. The pages are unchanged; the file is encrypted around them, so what the recipient sees after entering the password is exactly your document.
How to use it
Privacy & security · 9 August 2026 · 4 min
How to password protect a PDF (and which password you need)
PDF has two different passwords and they do different jobs. One encrypts the file; the other politely asks. Here is which to use, and how to pick a password worth setting.
How-to guides · 10 August 2026 · 2 min
How to add a watermark to a PDF (and what it is worth)
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