How to protect a PDF with a password
- Choose the document. Drag it into the area above or click to pick it.
- Type the password twice. The second field is there to catch a typo.
- Press Protect PDF.
- Store the password somewhere safe before you close this page.
If you lose the password, the document is lost
There is no recovery, no reset and no back door. That is what real encryption means.
This is worth saying before you use the tool rather than after. The document is encrypted with AES-256 on your device; nobody holds a copy of the password, because it never leaves your browser. A service that could recover it for you would be a service that kept it — and that is precisely what this does not do.
Why the password is asked for twice
Because a typo would only surface the first time you tried to reopen the file — probably much later.
With most mistakes you find out immediately. With this one you find out when the document matters, and by then the correct password is whatever you mistyped, which you do not know. The confirmation field costs three seconds and removes that failure entirely.
Frequently asked questions
Is the document uploaded to a server?
No. The encryption happens in your browser, on your own device, and the password never leaves it.
What encryption is used?
AES-256, the standard modern readers support. It is real encryption, not a flag asking readers to behave.
Can you recover my password if I forget it?
No. We never had it: it exists only in your browser while you use the tool. Without it the document cannot be opened.
Will the protected file open everywhere?
Yes, in any reader that supports encrypted PDFs — which is essentially all of them. The reader will ask for the password.