How to password protect a PDF
If a PDF holds anything private — a contract, a payslip, medical notes — a password stops anyone who gets the file from opening it. The PDF is encrypted, so the password isn't just a prompt you can click past.
Open Protect PDFStep by step
- Open the Protect PDF tool and drop your file in.
- Type the password you want to lock it with, twice so there's no typo.
- Download the protected PDF. Anyone opening it now has to enter that password.
What the password actually does
Protecting a PDF encrypts its contents, not just the view. Without the password the bytes are scrambled, so it can't be opened, copied, or printed by guessing.
Pick a password you can share with the right people through a separate channel — don't email the password in the same message as the file.
If you need to remove the password later
Once everyone who needs it has a copy, you may want an unlocked version for your own archive. Use the Unlock PDF tool with the password to produce a copy with no password.
Keep the original password somewhere safe. If you lose it, the file can't be recovered — that's the whole point of real encryption.
FAQ
- Can the password be removed without knowing it?
- No. The file is genuinely encrypted, so there's no back door. You need the password to open or unlock it.
- Is my file kept on the server?
- No. It's processed in a temporary folder and deleted right after — nothing is stored or shared.
- Is it free?
- Yes, completely free, with no account.