Protect or Unlock PDF
betaAdd a password and permissions with AES-256, or remove a password you know — in your browser
How it works
Open the PDF; the dialog takes a password to open, an optional owner password, and whether to restrict printing, copying, changing, commenting, form filling and page assembly. The file is encrypted with AES-256 and stays protected while you work and when you save. To unlock, open the protected file with its password and choose Remove the password from the More menu; Save writes an unencrypted copy. Restrictions are enforced by readers that respect them — most do — and lifted with the owner password.
Questions
Can it remove a password I do not know?
No. The file must be opened with its password first; this tool does not break encryption.
What do the permissions do?
They tell readers what to allow without the owner password: print (at high resolution), copy text and pictures, change the document, comment, fill forms, assemble pages. Acrobat, Preview and browsers honour them; the owner password overrides them.
Is my file uploaded?
No. Everything runs in your browser — pdf.js draws the document and pdf-lib rewrites it in a background thread — and Save writes to your disk or downloads a copy. Nothing leaves your device.