Protect PDF

Add a password to a PDF so only people with the password can open it.

  • Free, no sign-up
  • No watermark
  • Files deleted automatically
Supported Formats
PDF

or drop a file here · paste with Ctrl+V

PDF

Up to 1 GB

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About Protect PDF

Protect PDF encrypts a PDF with a password using 256-bit AES encryption, so it cannot be opened without that password. Use it before emailing bank statements, salary slips, contracts, ID copies or medical reports.

Encryption is done with qpdf, and the protected file opens in every standard PDF reader — Adobe Acrobat, browsers, phone apps — once the password is entered. Files are sent over HTTPS, processed on our server and deleted automatically after you download the result.

How to use Protect PDF

  1. Upload the PDF.
  2. Type a strong password and save it somewhere safe.
  3. Press Protect and download the encrypted PDF.

Key features

  • 256-bit AES encryption
  • Opens in all standard PDF readers with the password
  • Encrypted with qpdf, a widely trusted PDF engine
  • Your password is never stored or logged

When to use Protect PDF

  • Emailing bank statements, payslips or tax documents.
  • Sharing scans of ID cards, passports or medical reports.
  • Sending contracts or quotations that only the recipient should open.

Tips and common problems

  • Use a password of at least 12 characters, and never reuse your email or bank password.
  • Share the password through a different channel than the file.
  • Keep an unprotected copy somewhere safe — a forgotten password cannot be recovered.

Frequently asked questions

It cannot be recovered — not by us, and not by any honest tool. Keep the password in a password manager.

Guides

  • PDF Password Protection Explained — The two kinds of PDF passwords, what AES-256 encryption really protects, why "no printing" restrictions are weak, and how to protect and unlock PDFs safely.
  • How to Sign a PDF Without Printing and Scanning — Make a clean signature image, place it on a PDF in the right spot, and learn how an image signature differs from a digital signature (DSC) and Aadhaar eSign.