Protect PDF
- No Sign-up
- 100% Free
- Zero Server Data
Put a password on a PDF, so it cannot be opened without one. The file is encrypted with AES-256 by your browser, which means the document never leaves the machine and neither does the password. There is no server holding a copy and no way to reset it, so a password that is lost takes the document with it.
1 · Your PDF
2 · The password
Nothing here can recover this password. It is not stored, not sent anywhere, and there is nothing to reset. Write it down before you press the button.
Frequently asked questions
Is my document or my password sent anywhere?
Neither. Your browser reads the PDF, generates the key and encrypts the file, all locally. The site’s security policy sets connect-src ‘none’, so the browser blocks network requests from these pages, meaning nothing could be sent even if the code tried. That matters more here than anywhere else on this site: a tool that puts a password on a document and uploads the document has achieved nothing.
What kind of password is this?
The kind that stops the file being opened. A PDF also supports a second kind that lets anyone open the document but asks readers not to print or copy it, and most readers ignore that request. This tool does not offer it, because a feature that sounds like protection and is not is worse than no feature.
What does the password actually protect against?
Someone who does not have it. The content is genuinely encrypted with AES-256, so a file without the password is unreadable rather than merely locked. It is not protection from someone who has the password, who can remove it in a few seconds, and it is not protection if the file and the password travel together in the same email.
How long should the password be?
Longer than you think. Whoever holds the file can guess at it forever, on their own machine, without anyone knowing and without any limit on attempts. That makes length the whole of the strength. Eight characters is the floor this tool will accept, not a recommendation.
Can this remove a password?
No, and that is deliberate. Taking protection off a document is a different operation with different consequences, and it belongs in the program that made the file rather than in a tool anyone can open with a link.