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Protect PDF

Add password protection and restrict permissions on your PDF

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Drop a PDF file here or click to browse

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All processing happens on your computer. Your PDF and passwords never leave your device.

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Your Documents Stay Confidential
  • Files never leave your computer - ideal for sensitive business documents
  • Secure sign-in with Google or email magic link
  • Free tier includes 2 downloads per day

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This tool applies PDF's built-in encryption to the file you load: a document open password that a viewer must enter before the page will render at all, an owner/permissions password that restricts printing, copying, editing, or form-filling while leaving the file openable, or both together. All of it happens in the browser against your local file; nothing uploads, and you download a newly encrypted PDF. What people usually miss is that permission restrictions set without an open password are advisory - a reader that ignores the permission flags, or software built to strip them, can still print or copy the content, so they deter casual use rather than block it.

Worked example

Input
Upload invoice.pdf, set 'Document open password' to CorrectHorse9!, and uncheck 'Allow printing' and 'Allow copying text' under permissions.
Output
A re-saved invoice.pdf that prompts for CorrectHorse9! before any PDF viewer will display it; once opened, its permission flags mark printing and text-copying as disallowed.
Why
The open password encrypts the document so it cannot be rendered without the correct key, while printing and copying are separate permission bits in the same encryption dictionary that compliant readers check before allowing those actions.

How it works

Two passwords, two effects
PDF's standard security handler supports a user password, needed to open the document, and a separate owner password, which controls permissions such as printing, copying, editing, and form-filling. You can set either alone or both. Setting only a permissions password leaves the file openable by anyone; only an open (user) password stops the file from rendering without it.
Local encryption, downloaded output
The tool writes the passwords and permission flags into the PDF's encryption dictionary using the file already loaded in your browser tab; the source file is never transmitted anywhere. The result is a new PDF you save separately - the original on your disk is left untouched unless you overwrite it yourself.

When to use it

  • Emailing a contract, invoice, or financial statement that should require a password before anyone can view it.
  • Sharing a report or catalog where printing or copy-pasting the text should be discouraged without blocking reading access.
  • Delivering a finished document to a client where editing and form-filling need to stay locked while the file remains readable.

Worth knowing

  • Permission restrictions (printing, copying, editing) rely on the viewing software honoring the flags; a reader or conversion tool that ignores the owner password can still perform those actions, so restrictions are a deterrent, not a hard barrier.
  • There is no recovery path for a forgotten open password - the encryption happens locally and no copy of the file or password is retained, so losing the password means losing access to the document.
  • Protecting a PDF only wraps existing content in a password; it does not remove or black out text, images, or metadata already in the file, so it is not a substitute for redaction if sensitive content must be deleted, not just gated.

Frequently asked

If I restrict printing but don't set an open password, is the content actually protected?
No - anyone can open and read the file without entering anything. Only the printing/copying/editing actions are marked restricted, and that only holds in PDF readers that check the permission flags, so treat it as a deterrent rather than a security control.
Can I use this tool to remove protection I applied earlier so I can edit the file?
Only if you still have the password you originally set. The tool doesn't keep a copy of your file or password after processing, so it has no way to strip protection whose password is unknown to it.

References

All PDFb2 tools