Protect PDF
Encrypt with AES-256 and decide whether printing and copying stay allowed.
Protect PDF online, free and without limits
Email is not a private channel, and documents get forwarded further than intended. Encrypting a PDF means the file is unreadable without the password, wherever it ends up. Protection here uses AES-256, the same standard organizations require for data at rest, and lets you decide separately whether recipients may print the document or copy text out of it — useful for offer letters, payroll data, medical records and anything covered by GDPR or similar rules.
How to password protect a PDF
- 1
Upload the PDF you want to secure.
- 2
Choose a strong password and confirm it.
- 3
Decide whether printing and copying stay permitted.
- 4
Press Protect PDF and download the encrypted file.
What you get
- AES-256 encryption, the current standard for document security.
- Separate permissions for printing and for copying text.
- The password is used to encrypt and is never stored on the server.
- The file stays a normal PDF that any reader can open — with the password.
Questions about Protect PDF
What people usually want to know before they upload a document.
What happens if I forget the password?
The file cannot be opened, by you or by us. That is the point of real encryption. Store the password somewhere safe before you send the document.
How strong is the protection?
AES-256 is the accepted standard and is not brute-forceable in practice. The real weakness of any encrypted document is a weak or shared password, so choose a long one and send it through a different channel from the file.
Can I stop someone printing or copying the text?
Yes, both are separate switches. Note that permissions are enforced by the reader, so they deter ordinary misuse rather than defeating a determined attacker — the password is what actually protects the content.
Related tools
Other things you can do with the same document.