Password protect a PDF

Encrypt your PDF with 256-bit AES: without the password, it won't open. The document and the password never leave your device.

Drop your PDF files here
or choose a file — you can also paste a file
PDF · no size limit imposed · one file

Your files stay yours

Nothing is transmitted, nothing is kept

No watermark

The free result is the complete result

No usage cap

Unlimited with a free account

How it works

Three steps

  1. Drop the PDF you want to protect.

  2. Choose a password and type it a second time; block printing or copying if you need to.

  3. Download the protected document.

What sets this tool apart

Differences

256-bit AES, the PDF 2.0 standard

Encryption follows the PDF 2.0 standard (ISO 32000-2), never the old RC4.

Your password stays with you

Encryption runs in your browser: neither the document nor the password is sent to us.

Privacy

Where your files are processed

With this tool, your file is not transmitted anywhere: not to us, not to any third party. We know neither its name, nor its contents, nor its size.

Nothing is kept, because nothing reaches us. There is no deletion to request and no retention period to watch.

Frequently asked

What people ask us

What if I forget the password?

Nobody will be able to open the document, not even us: we never see the password. Keep the unprotected original, or write the password down somewhere safe.

What encryption is used?

256-bit AES from the PDF 2.0 standard. Current PDF readers open it; some very old software does not support it.

What do the printing, copying and editing restrictions do?

They ask the PDF reader to block those actions, and common readers honour them. They are instructions, though: software that ignores them can get around them. Only the open password truly protects the content.

What is the owner password?

A second password that lifts the restrictions. If you don't choose one, we draw a random one that nobody knows: the restrictions can then no longer be lifted, and the original is what lets you change your mind.

Why is my document refused?

It is already protected, by a password or restrictions. This tool does not re-encrypt an encrypted document: start from the original.

Are my files sent to a server?

No. The document is encrypted in your browser: we know neither its name, its contents nor its password. There is nothing to delete afterwards.

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