Protect PDF
Password-protect a PDF with AES-256 encryption and choose whether it can be printed, copied or edited. The file is encrypted in your browser — it's never uploaded anywhere.
How it works
- 1
Drop your PDF
The file is read in your browser — it's never uploaded.
- 2
Set a password
Choose a strong password and confirm it.
- 3
Pick permissions
Allow or block printing, copying and editing.
- 4
Download
Save a copy encrypted with AES-256.
Common uses
- Lock a payslip, bank statement or tax return before emailing it.
- Share a contract or medical report that only the recipient can open.
- Stop a document from being printed or copied when you send it out.
About the Protect PDF
Password-protect a PDF with AES-256 encryption and choose whether it can be printed, copied or edited. The file is encrypted in your browser — it's never uploaded anywhere.
Protection is applied with qpdf, a widely used open-source PDF tool, running entirely in your browser. The open password encrypts the whole file with AES-256, and the optional permissions are enforced by standard PDF readers.
Protect PDF is part of a free, privacy-first toolkit. Your files are handled entirely in the browser with pdf-lib and PDF.js, so nothing is uploaded to a server and there are no page or size limits.
Because protect pdf works without any sign-up or installation, you can use it as often as you like and it's always available — on desktop or mobile, and even offline.
Explore more pdf tools, or try Unlock PDF · Redact PDF.
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Protect PDF — FAQ
Drop the PDF here, enter a password twice and click Protect & download. The copy you download asks for that password before it opens.