Password Protect PDF Online Free
Lock any PDF with a password in seconds. Recipients will need the password to open the file. Free, no signup, processed securely.
🔒 Your file is converted securely and never stored on our servers.
Viewers must enter this password to open the PDF.
Permissions
How to Password Protect a PDF
- 1
Upload your PDF
Click the upload zone or drag and drop your PDF. The file is sent securely to our server for processing and is never stored.
- 2
Set a password and permissions
Enter the open password viewers will need. Optionally add an owner (permissions) password and choose which actions to allow.
- 3
Download the protected PDF
Click "Protect PDF" and download the password-protected file. Test it by opening it in a PDF viewer and entering your password.
PDF password protection is the standard way to control who can open sensitive documents — contracts, financial records, personal information — before sharing them by email or cloud storage. want2convert uses qpdf on the server to apply 256-bit AES encryption. Your file is processed securely and deleted immediately after the protected PDF is returned to you.
Open password vs owner password: The open password (also called the user password) is required for any viewer to open the document. The owner password (permissions password) is a separate credential used to change permissions or remove encryption. If you leave the owner password blank, it defaults to the open password.
Permissions: By default all permissions are disabled — recipients can read the PDF but cannot print, copy, or edit it. Check the boxes above to grant specific permissions.
Important: Store your password in a password manager. There is no way to recover a lost password from a PDF.