DigiTools

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Protect a PDF with a password

Add a password to a PDF so only people who know it can open it, and choose whether they can print it or copy its text. Encrypted with AES-256. Your file and password stay on your device.

or drop it anywhere on this page

Files stay on this device. Nothing is uploaded.

How to add a password to a PDF

  1. Choose a PDF, or drop it onto the page.
  2. Type a password twice, and choose whether to allow printing and copying.
  3. Select Protect PDF and download the protected file. It opens only with your password.

Questions

Are my PDF and password uploaded anywhere?

No. Your browser encrypts the PDF on this device. The file and the password are never sent to a server or saved, and the password is forgotten as soon as the PDF is protected.

Which PDF readers can open a protected PDF?

Any up-to-date reader: Adobe Acrobat and Reader (version X or later), Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari, Apple Preview, and the PDF apps on phones and tablets. They all ask for the password first. The PDF is encrypted with AES-256, the strongest kind in the PDF standard, which readers older than about 2010 can’t open.

What if I forget the password?

Nobody can open the PDF without it, us included: we never see it, and there’s no way to recover or reset it. Keep the password somewhere safe, such as a password manager, and keep your original PDF too.

Can I take the password off later?

Yes, if you know it: open the PDF in Unlock PDF and type the password, and you get a copy without it. Any limits on printing or copying go with it.

Need to do more?