Add a password
Lock a PDF with AES-256. Nothing is uploaded: the work happens on this device.
About Add a password
Locks a PDF with AES-256, so nobody can open it without the password, and chooses whether printing, copying and changes are allowed. Or only restrict those, with no password to open: readers that respect the settings obey them, but a determined person can switch them off. The password is never stored or sent, so write it down.
How to use it
- Add one or more PDFs.
- Leave Lock it with a password chosen, then type the password and type it again.
- Tick or untick Allow printing, Allow copying text, and Allow changes and comments.
- Press Lock it and save the locked copy.
Good to know
AES-256 is the strongest lock a PDF can carry, but a password anyone can guess undoes it. A date of birth or a phone number alone is easy for anyone who knows you. Several words strung together are both strong and easy to remember. Send the password by a different route from the file: a call, or a separate message.
Printing is allowed at first, while copying and changes are not. These settings ride along with the password and are obeyed by Acrobat, Chrome and most readers, so a locked contract can still be printed but not edited. Only restrict printing, copying and editing makes a file anyone can open, with those settings as a polite request.
Every file you add is locked with the same password. Nobody can open a locked file without it, this site included, and there is no reset: keep the unlocked original somewhere safe. To take the lock off later, use Remove a password.
Questions people ask
What if I forget the password?
Nobody can open the file, us included. Keep the unlocked original safe.
Can I lock several files at once?
Yes, all with the password you type.
Will it open on a phone?
Yes. Any PDF reader that supports AES-256, which is nearly all of them, asks for the password and opens it.