Add a password and permission restrictions to a PDF. Free, private, runs in your browser.
100% private — your files never leave your browser. All processing happens locally on your device.
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Drop one PDF for the classic single-file flow, or up to 20 PDFs for batch protection — same password + permissions applied to every file, download as a ZIP. Files never leave your device.
A password-protected PDF is the simplest way to share a document that you want only intended readers to open. Send an encrypted PDF by email; the person on the other end types in the password you share out-of-band (a text message, a phone call, a password manager share). Attackers who intercept the email can't read the contents — they'd have to crack the password. For everyday confidentiality (salary letters, rental contracts, internal memos, medical summaries), this is more than sufficient. It's also the single thing every PDF viewer already supports, so there's no lock-in to a service.
A PDF has two password slots. The user password is what you need to OPEN the file. The owner password is what you need to REMOVE restrictions (allow printing, allow copying text, allow editing). When you only set a user password, both slots get the same value. When you set both, you can give collaborators the user password (they can read but not print) and keep the owner password for yourself (you can still do everything). Most use-cases only need the user password; the owner-password slot is optional.
Print — lets the reader send the file to a printer. Copy — lets the reader select and copy text out of the PDF, useful for accessibility (screen readers) and quote-ins. Modify — lets the reader edit the document: add pages, delete pages, change content. Annotate — lets the reader add comments or sticky notes. Unchecked = denied. The permissions are enforced by the PDF viewer; a sophisticated attacker with the unlocked PDF can still bypass them, so treat permission flags as a courtesy rather than a security boundary.
The cipher is AES-128 — the same algorithm that encrypts your phone, your hard drive, and your Wi-Fi. AES-128 and AES-256 are both considered cryptographically unbreakable by any realistic attacker; AES-256 is often marketed as 'stronger' but the practical difference for everyday document sharing is nil. We default to AES-128 because it has the widest PDF-reader compatibility, including older macOS Preview and browser PDF.js (AES-256 requires readers released in the last ~6 years). For the crypto itself, a 12+ character password is effectively unbreakable with today's hardware (and 20+ character passwords are unbreakable for the foreseeable future). The weak link is always the password: a 6-character all-lowercase password falls to a desktop GPU in under a second. Longer is better than complex; mixed-case with numbers is better than pure lowercase. If you care about the file, treat the password the way you'd treat your bank password.
Yes — this tool runs pure JavaScript PDF encryption entirely inside your browser. Your PDF is read into memory locally, encrypted locally with AES, and written back to your downloads folder. There is no upload step, no server, no cache. The password you type never leaves your machine. Close the tab and everything is gone. Compare this to server-based tools that upload the plaintext PDF and the password over HTTPS to a remote service — that's a larger trust boundary than it needs to be.
AES-128, the industry standard for everyday document protection. In practical terms AES-128 is uncrackable by brute force — the real strength of your protected PDF comes from the password you choose. A strong 12+ character password with mixed classes is more important than the specific cipher. For reference, AES-128 and AES-256 are both considered cryptographically unbreakable with today's computing; AES-256 is often branded as 'more secure' but the practical difference for everyday sharing is nil. We default to AES-128 because it has the widest PDF-reader compatibility, including older Preview and browser PDF.js.
The user password is what opens the PDF. The owner password (optional) is what removes restrictions like print or copy. If you leave owner blank, both passwords are the same.
No — passwords are never sent or stored. If you forget the password, the PDF cannot be opened. Save your password somewhere safe.
Same cryptography, but your PDF never leaves your browser here. On server-based tools the file is uploaded, encrypted, and then typically kept in their cache for hours or days. Here, closing the tab deletes everything.