Secure Your Documents with Professional-Grade Encryption
Sending a sensitive contract, invoice, or unreleased design? Once you hit send, you lose control. Anyone who intercepts it can open it. The recipient can copy your carefully written terms, alter figures, change clauses, or extract your content without permission. A document you worked hard on—or that contains data you're legally obligated to protect—is suddenly just a file anyone can do anything with.
Authoritative. Encrypted. Ironclad.
Lock down your data. Use our tool to encrypt PDF with a password and strictly control who can view it. Want them to read it but not change a single word? Easily protect your PDF from editing with advanced permission locks that disable copying, modifying, and printing at the document level. Whether you're a lawyer sealing a contract, an HR professional sending payroll forms, or a teacher protecting your course materials—our dual-layer protection puts you back in control of every document you send.
This is what it means to truly protect PDF files before they leave your hands.
How to Password Protect a PDF Online
Step 1: Upload Your Document
Drag and drop the document you want to secure. Contracts, payroll summaries, financial reports, legal briefs, design mockups, course materials—any PDF you need to control before it reaches its destination. No installation required. Your file is encrypted the moment it touches our servers.
Step 2: Set Your Locks
Choose the level of protection your document requires. Type a strong password to require it for opening—nobody sees the file without it. Or check the permission boxes to disable printing, copying text, filling forms, and modifying content. You can apply one layer, the other, or both simultaneously. Full control over exactly what the recipient can and cannot do with your document.
Step 3: Encrypt & Download
Our engine applies AES 256-bit encryption—the same standard used by governments, financial institutions, and defense organizations worldwide. Download your impenetrable file and send it with complete confidence. The protection travels with the document wherever it goes.
Three steps. Seconds to complete. A document that's now as secure as the data inside it deserves to be.
Two Ways to Lock Your Document — Choose One or Both
PDF protection isn't one-size-fits-all. Different documents require different controls. Here's how our dual-layer system works—and when to use each layer.
🔐 Layer 1: Prevent Unauthorized Access (Open Password)
An Open Password—also called a User Password—requires anyone who receives the file to enter a password before they can even view it. The document is completely inaccessible without it. This is the right protection for documents containing personal data, financial figures, or confidential information that should only reach specific, authorized eyes. Bank statements. Medical records. Payroll documents. Legal agreements in negotiation. Personnel files. If the document's content itself is sensitive and only the intended recipient should be able to read it, add an open password and share that password through a separate, secure channel. Anyone else who gets their hands on the file sees nothing but an encrypted block.
🛡️ Layer 2: Prevent Alterations (Permission Lock)
A Permission Lock—technically an Owner Password—doesn't prevent viewing, but it precisely controls what the recipient can do after the document is open. Want anyone to read your proposal but nobody to alter the pricing? Lock it from editing. Want a client to review your design but not extract the assets? Disable copying. Want a student to read your course notes but not print and redistribute them? Restrict printing. Use the lock PDF from editing feature to protect intellectual property, enforce document integrity, and ensure that what you sent is what stays on record—unchanged, uncopied, and used only on your terms. Especially powerful for creative professionals, educators, and anyone distributing proprietary content.
⚔️ Both Together: Maximum Document Control
The most sensitive documents deserve both layers simultaneously. A financial report that only the CFO should open—and that nobody should be able to print or copy once they do. A contract that requires authentication to view—and that locks all editing until both parties have formally agreed. An NDA that must be seen but never extracted. Apply an open password AND permission restrictions together for complete end-to-end document control. The recipient must authenticate to enter, and once inside, they can only do exactly what you've permitted—nothing more.
Who Needs PDF Protection?
⚖️ Lawyers & Accountants
Legal and financial documents carry regulatory and ethical obligations around confidentiality. Contracts, wills, financial statements, audit reports, and client correspondence must reach only the intended parties—and must arrive exactly as written, with no alterations. Encrypt PDF files with password protection before emailing to clients or counterparties. Add permission locks to ensure terms cannot be edited between signing rounds. Protect your professional obligations with the same rigor you apply to your advice.
🏢 HR Professionals
Payroll documents, tax forms, offer letters, performance reviews, and termination notices contain some of the most sensitive personal data an organization handles. Distributing these via email without protection is a compliance risk and a trust breach. Add open passwords to employee-specific documents so only the named recipient can access them. Apply permission locks to policy documents and handbooks to prevent unauthorized editing after distribution. Secure pdf documents the way employee data demands to be secured.
🎨 Creatives & Designers
Sending a design mockup, portfolio piece, or unreleased creative work to a client before payment or contract is a risk. Without protection, your work can be extracted, copied, and used without authorization—or sent to competitors. Add permission locks that allow viewing and approval but disable image extraction and content copying. Watermark first and then encrypt for double-layered creative protection. Share your work confidently, knowing what you send cannot be lifted and used without your consent.
📚 Teachers & Course Creators
Lesson plans, worksheets, course materials, and proprietary curricula represent hours of intellectual work. Distributing them to enrolled students without protection means they can be shared freely, resold, or redistributed beyond your intended audience. Restrict printing and copying to prevent unauthorized redistribution while still allowing students to read and study your materials on screen. Protect your PDF from editing so your content stays yours, even after it's in students' hands.
💼 Business Professionals
Proposals, pitch decks, pricing documents, and business strategies sent to prospects and partners are often among a company's most sensitive competitive assets. An unprotected PDF is a document that can be forwarded, printed for competitors, and altered before being shown to decision-makers. Lock pdf from editing to ensure the proposal that lands on the final decision-maker's desk is exactly the proposal you sent—not one with figures changed or terms removed.
🏥 Healthcare & Compliance
Patient forms, insurance documents, referral letters, and medical records carry legal protection requirements in most jurisdictions. Sharing these without encryption may not just be careless—it may be a compliance violation. Add password protection to ensure that sensitive health information reaches only authorized recipients. Permission locks prevent forms from being edited after completion, protecting the integrity of medical records and submissions.
Bank-Level 256-Bit Encryption — The Standard That Protects Governments
AES 256-bit encryption is not a marketing phrase—it is the encryption standard mandated by the U.S. government for classified information, used by financial institutions worldwide to protect transactions, and adopted by security-conscious organizations in every industry. A brute-force attack against a strong AES 256-bit password would require more computational time than the age of the universe to complete. For practical purposes, a well-chosen password combined with this encryption makes your document mathematically impenetrable.
Beyond the encryption itself, the tool handling your documents is equally important. Your files are encrypted during transit using 256-bit TLS. Processing is fully automated—no employee ever accesses or reviews your uploaded documents. Files are permanently and automatically deleted from our servers immediately after you download the protected version. We cannot read your documents. We do not save your passwords. We do not retain copies of what you upload.
You're not just protecting your document from the recipient. You're working with a tool that protects your document from everyone—including us.
Secure Your Document Workflow
Make sure the file is perfect before locking it. Here are the tools that belong earlier in the process:
Need to sign the contract before you encrypt and send it? Use Sign PDF first to add your legally binding signature, then apply password protection on top. Sign, seal, send—in the right order, with the right tools at each step.
Want to add a "CONFIDENTIAL" stamp or your company logo before locking the file? Use Add Watermark before encrypting. Watermarking identifies the document as yours; encryption controls who can access it. Together they create a document that's both branded and protected.
Sent the locked file and need to update it? Applied a password you'd like to change? If you know the password and want it removed so you can make changes, use Unlock PDF to decrypt the file, make your edits, and re-encrypt with updated settings. Full control in both directions.
Need to fill in final details, correct a clause, or add annotations before the document is sealed? Use Edit PDF to make all necessary changes first. Once you're satisfied the document is complete and correct, then apply encryption. Lock the final version—not a draft.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I protect a PDF from editing?
Upload your PDF to our protection tool and select the "Restrict Editing" permission option. This applies an Owner Password that disables the ability to modify, copy text from, or fill forms within the document. The recipient can open and read it freely, but all editing capabilities are locked. For maximum protection, combine this with an Open Password so only authorized recipients can view it at all.
What is the difference between an Open Password and a Permissions Password?
An Open Password (User Password) prevents anyone from viewing the document without first entering the correct password—the file is completely inaccessible without it. A Permissions Password (Owner Password) allows the document to be opened and read by anyone, but restricts specific actions: editing, copying text, printing, or filling forms. One controls who can see the document; the other controls what they can do with it once they're in. You can apply either or both simultaneously depending on your security requirements.
Can someone bypass my PDF password?
With AES 256-bit encryption and a strong password, it is mathematically impossible to brute-force the protection within any practical timeframe. The number of possible combinations makes automated cracking attempts computationally infeasible with any current or foreseeable technology. The key variable is password strength—a strong, unique password combined with 256-bit AES encryption creates a document that is, for all practical purposes, impenetrable.
Is it safe to encrypt sensitive documents online?
Yes. Your files are protected by 256-bit TLS encryption during upload and processing. The entire process is automated—no human ever accesses your documents. Files are permanently deleted from our servers immediately after you download the protected version. We do not store your passwords, log your document contents, or retain any data after processing. Sensitive financial, legal, and personal documents are handled with the same security standards that protect online banking.
Can I restrict printing without setting an open password?
Yes. Permission restrictions and Open Passwords are independent controls. You can apply print restrictions, copy restrictions, and editing restrictions without setting any open password—meaning anyone can open and read the file, but cannot print or copy from it. Or you can set only an open password with no permission restrictions. Or both together. The tool lets you choose each layer of protection independently based on what the document requires.
What happens to my password after the file is processed?
Your password is applied to the document's encryption and is not stored, logged, or retained by our systems in any form after processing. We cannot retrieve your password after the fact—and deliberately so. If you lose the password to a document you've protected, you will need to know it to unlock it again. Store your passwords securely. We have no backdoor access and no recovery mechanism—by design.
Does encrypting a PDF reduce its quality or alter the content?
No. Encryption adds a security wrapper around your document without touching the content inside. Text, images, formatting, tables, and layout are preserved exactly as they were in the original. The file may be marginally larger due to the encryption layer, but visual and functional quality is completely unchanged. Your document looks and behaves identically to the original—it's simply locked.
Can I add password protection to a PDF on mobile or Chromebook?
Yes. Our tool is fully browser-based and works on any device with a modern web browser—Mac, Windows, Chromebook, iPhone, and Android. No app to install, no platform restrictions. Protect PDF files from anywhere, on any device, whenever a document needs to be secured before sending.
Ready to Lock Down Your Documents?
Stop sending sensitive files and hoping for the best. Stop trusting that the right people will be the only ones who see what you send. Stop leaving contracts, financial records, and proprietary content unprotected in someone else's inbox.
Encrypt. Lock. Control. Your documents, protected exactly the way they deserve to be.
Protect Your PDF Now