Protect PDF

Add a password and AES-256 encryption to a PDF, with control over printing, copying, and editing.

Drag & drop files here, or click to browse

PDF only · max 10MB · files auto-delete after 1 hour

Password

Confirm password

AES-256 encryption. We don’t store this password — if you lose it, we can’t recover the file for you, so save it somewhere safe.

Require the password just to open the file

This sets both an “owner” password (controls the permissions below) and a “user” password (required just to open the file) to the same value.

Permissions

Allow printingAllow high-resolution printing (uncheck to limit to low-res)Allow copying text and imagesAllow editing contentAllow annotations and commentsAllow filling form fieldsAllow assembling (insert, delete, or reorder pages)

Screen readers can always extract text for accessibility, regardless of these settings.

How it works

Upload a PDF and choose a password. Decide whether that password is required just to open the file, or only to change the permissions you set below — printing, copying text/images, and editing. We encrypt the file with AES-256. Download the protected file immediately — both the original and the result are deleted from our servers automatically after one hour, and we never store the password itself.

FAQ

What encryption is used?: AES-256 (PDF 2.0 / R6) — the same standard used by most modern password-protection tools.
Will anyone be able to open the PDF without the password?: Only if you uncheck 'Require the password just to open the file' — otherwise no, the password is required to open it at all.
What does unchecking 'require the password to open' actually do?: The file opens freely in any PDF reader, but the permissions you set (print/copy/edit) are still encoded into the file for compliant readers to enforce.
What if I forget the password?: We don't store it anywhere, so there's no way for us to recover it — keep it somewhere safe.