How to Password-Protect a PDF for Free
Sharing a payslip, a contract, or a medical record by email? A password stops anyone who isn't meant to see it from opening the file, even if it ends up in the wrong inbox or on the wrong drive. Here's how to add one — or remove one — in a few seconds, without installing anything or sending your file to a server.
Open the Protect PDF tool
Go to the Protect PDF page. No account, no software to install.
Add your PDF file
Drag and drop it onto the page, or click “Browse files”. The tool checks the file and picks the right mode for you automatically: “Add a password” for a file that isn't protected yet, “Remove protection” for one that already is.
Type your password
To add protection, type a password and confirm it. To remove protection, type the file's current password instead. Choose something you'll actually remember — there is no “forgot password” option, for anyone, including us: without it, the file cannot be recovered.
Download the result
Click “Download”. The encryption or decryption happens instantly in your browser, and the resulting file downloads straight to your device.
Frequently asked questions
- What kind of password protection does this add?
- A real “open password” (AES-256, the current standard): the file cannot be opened at all, in any PDF reader, without the correct password. This is different from a permissions-only “owner password” some tools apply, which restricts printing or editing but lets anyone open and read the file.
- Can I recover a forgotten password?
- No — and that's by design. AES-256 encryption has no backdoor: if the password is lost, the file's content is permanently inaccessible, to you or to anyone else. Keep it somewhere safe before you close the tab.
- Is my password sent to a server?
- No, never. Encryption and decryption both happen locally in your browser using the Web Crypto API built into it — your password and your file's content never leave your device.
- Can I remove a password without knowing it?
- No. There is no way to bypass or crack the protection here — the current password is always required to remove it. That's the whole point of the encryption actually working.
- Does removing protection work on every protected PDF?
- On most, yes. A small number of PDFs use an internal structure (“compressed object streams”) that this tool can't yet parse for removal — you'll get a clear message if that happens, with a simple workaround: open the file in a PDF reader with its password, then “print to PDF” to get a new, unprotected file.