How to Password-Protect a PDF (Free, Online)

Contracts, payslips, ID copies and financial statements often travel by email or chat. A password means that only the people you give it to can open the file, even if it ends up in the wrong inbox.

How to protect a PDF with a password

1. Open the Protect PDF tool and add your file.
2. Type the password you want people to use to open the document.
3. Choose whether to allow printing and whether to allow copying text.
4. Press the Protect PDF button and download the encrypted file.

The file is encrypted with AES-256, a widely used standard.

Choosing a good password

• Use at least 12 characters.
• Mix words, numbers and symbols, or use a long passphrase made of several unrelated words.
• Do not use a birthday, phone number or a word that is easy to guess.
• Send the password through a different channel than the file, for example the file by email and the password by message.

Important: we cannot recover a lost password

If you forget the password, the file cannot be opened, and SnapPDF cannot help, because we never store or crack passwords. Keep an unprotected copy of important documents somewhere safe, and store the password in a password manager.

Permissions: printing and copying

You can decide whether people who open the file may print it or copy text from it. These settings work in viewers that respect them, so treat them as a way of discouraging casual copying, not as an unbreakable lock. The password itself is what keeps the file private.

Need to remove the password later?

If you know the password and want an unprotected copy, use Unlock PDF. Read how in our guide to unlocking a PDF.

Before you protect a file

• Reduce the size first with Compress PDF.
• Combine documents with Merge PDF.
• Mark it as confidential with Add watermark.
• If words must be removed for good, use Redact PDF, because a password does not remove anything.

Is my file safe?

Your file is encrypted in transit and at rest and deleted automatically, by default within 2 hours. The password you type is not stored in our records. See the privacy page.

Frequently asked questions

How strong is the protection?

The file is encrypted with AES-256, a widely used standard. How secure it really is depends on your password, so choose a long and unique one.

What if I forget the password?

We cannot recover it. Keep the password in a safe place, and keep an unprotected copy of important files.

Can I stop people printing or copying?

Yes. You can choose whether printing and copying text are allowed. Note that these restrictions depend on the PDF viewer respecting them.

Is it free?

Yes. You can use Protect PDF without an account.