Protect PDF
Encrypt a document with a password, on this device.
Drop files here
Or paste them, or pick them from this device. Nothing is uploaded: the work happens in this tab.
Files in this tab
Nothing is loaded yet.
Options
Asked for before the document will open at all. Leave empty to let it open freely.
The strongest, and the default.
Advanced
Asked for before the permissions below can be changed. Leave empty to use the same password.
Protect the file
Add a file to get started.
What this does
This encrypts a document with a password, on this device, using AES-256 unless you need a file an older reader can open. It also carries the permissions a document declares — printing, copying, changing — but be clear about what those are: they are honoured by the reader rather than enforced by the file. Only the open password actually withholds the content.
What it will not do
Every tool here says what it cannot do, in its own words, before you rely on it.
- Permissions are honoured by the reader, not enforced by the file: a reader that ignores them can still print or copy. Only the open password actually withholds the content.
- Reading with assistive software cannot be forbidden under AES-256. PDF 2.0 withdrew that permission and readers ignore it, so it is always allowed rather than promised and not kept.
- Pagecraft cannot recover a password. Encrypt a document you can still open.
Questions people ask
Can someone get past the permissions?
Trivially, with a reader that ignores them — they are a request, not a lock. The open password is the only part that genuinely withholds the content, because without it the bytes cannot be decrypted at all.
Is my password sent anywhere?
No. The encryption happens in this tab and the password never leaves it. That also means nobody, here or anywhere, can recover it if you forget it.
Is my file uploaded anywhere?
No. The work happens in this browser tab, on your own machine. There is no server in this product to send a file to, which is why the promise is checkable rather than something you have to take on trust: open your browser's network panel and watch it do the work without making a request.
Is there a size limit, or a limit on how many files?
None that we impose. The limit is your own machine's memory, because that is where the work happens — a few hundred megabytes is comfortable on a laptop, and less on a phone. There is no daily task counter, no queue and no account.
What does it cost, and what is the catch?
Nothing, and there is no paid tier that unlocks features: the whole product is the free one. That is affordable because running it costs us nothing — your computer does the work — so there is no per-file cost to recover, no advertising and no data to sell.