Protect PDF
Drop a PDF here or click to choose
Choose an unprotected PDF. The password stays in this tab.
Save a copy that asks for a password before it opens. Test that copy in another viewer before you delete the original.
How to use
- Drop a PDF that does not already ask for a password. Add a watermark or page numbers first if you need them. This page will not open an encrypted file to edit it.
- Type the open password twice. Use at least 8 characters. The owner password is optional. If you leave it empty, it is set to the same value as the open password.
- Protect, download, and open the new file in Chrome or Acrobat. You should be asked for the password. Keep the original until that check passes.
What the password actually does
The download is encrypted with AES-256, the method current PDF readers expect. Chrome, Edge, Safari, Preview, and Acrobat from the last several years will ask for the open password. A very old reader from before PDF 2.0 may refuse the file instead of asking. If a recipient is on old software, say so before you send only the encrypted copy.
The password is used in this browser tab and is not written into the page address or sent with the file as a separate field. The libraries that build the PDF are loaded from a public CDN, so the tab does need a network connection. The PDF bytes themselves are not uploaded to PC Tools Online.
Permission checkboxes are a second, weaker layer. They write flags that say "please do not copy" or "please do not edit." Acrobat often honors them when the file was opened with the user password rather than the owner password. Chrome and many other viewers ignore them once the file is open. Do not tell a client that unticking "Allow copying" makes copying impossible. It does not. The open password is the control that stops someone who does not know it.
There is no certificate, no signature identity, and no record of who opened the file. This is not Sign PDF, and Sign PDF is itself only a picture of ink. Neither tool is a qualified electronic signature.
Limits you should plan for
If you forget the password, this site cannot recover it. There is no account and no copy of the password on a server. Store it yourself.
Already-encrypted files are refused, including files you protected here and then brought back. To change the password you would need to open the file with the current password in a reader that can save an unprotected copy, then protect that copy again. This page does not offer "remove password," because that feature is also how people try to open files that are not theirs.
Encrypt last. Crop, merge, organize, and edit all refuse a locked file. Build the document, then protect the final PDF.
A password does not hide the file name, and it does not stop someone who knows the password from saving an unprotected copy. Share the password by a different channel than the file.
Questions
Is AES-256 the same as a ZIP password?
No. This is PDF standard security. A ZIP tool's password will not open it, and this page will not wrap the PDF in a ZIP.
What if the two passwords do not match?
Nothing is written. The status line asks you to type the open password the same way twice.
Can I block printing for certain?
No. Unticking Allow printing sets a flag. Some viewers respect it. Browsers often still print. Assume a person who can open the file can photograph the screen.
Does the original file on my disk change?
No. The download is a new file. The original stays as it was unless you replace it yourself.