Password-protect a PDF
Strong encryption on the file itself: whoever holds it needs the password, wherever it travels.
Runs in your browser. Your file never leaves your computer.
- EncryptionAES-256, the standard
- Works inEvery PDF viewer
- OptionalSeparate owner password
- PasswordNever leaves this browser
A payslip forwarded, a contract on a shared drive, a report on a USB stick: files travel beyond your control, and a password travels with the file. Protection here applies AES-256 encryption, the current standard, requiring the password to open the document in any viewer. An optional owner password governs permissions separately. The critical detail is where this happens: the password and document meet only in your browser, which is the entire point of protecting something.
Questions
How strong is the protection really?
AES-256 with a good password is beyond practical attack; with a weak password, guessing is the attack. The passphrase carries the weight.
What is the owner password for?
It separately controls permissions like printing; leave it empty and the open password covers both roles.
Can the password be recovered if forgotten?
No, by design; there is no back door. Store it somewhere as safe as the document.
Related conversions
- Unlock PDFEnter it once more, get a copy that opens freely. For your own documents and archives.
- Compress PDFSmaller file, same pages. The pictures inside are re-encoded and the file repacked; text stays selectable, links keep working, and nothing leaves your computer.
- PDF to DOCXThe text layer rebuilt as an editable Word document. Honest limits: columns are best effort, scans need OCR.
- PDF to MarkdownThe text layer as structured plain text: headings and lists recovered where the layout permits.
- PDF to TXTThe text layer, page after page, with no markup at all: the rawest useful form of a document.
- PDF to PNGEvery page rendered at the resolution you pick, delivered together as a ZIP. Scans welcome here.
Part of convert documents in your browser. Every other conversion is on the conversions index.