Payslips, bank statements, contracts and ID scans shouldn't travel as open files. A password means only people who know it can open the PDF, even if the email is forwarded or the file is left on a shared computer.
Add a password in 3 steps
- Open Protect PDF and choose your file.
- Type a password twice. Optionally block printing, copying or editing.
- Download the protected PDF.
The PDF is encrypted with AES-256, the strongest standard PDF encryption, and every current PDF reader can open it with the password. Encryption happens in your browser: your file is never uploaded.
Choose a strong password
- Use at least 12 characters, or three or four random words.
- Don't reuse a password from your email or bank.
- Send the password separately, for example by text message or phone call, never in the same email as the file.
Don't lose it
A forgotten password can't be recovered by anyone, including us. Keep an unprotected copy somewhere safe, or store the password in a password manager.
Printing and copying restrictions
Protect PDF can also prevent printing, copying text and images, or editing and filling in. Most readers respect these restrictions, but some programs ignore them, and anyone who can open the file can remove them. They are a polite "please don't", not a lock. For real protection, rely on the password to open the file.
Before you send a protected PDF
- Check where it's going. Many online application forms, e-filing portals and some email filters reject encrypted PDFs, because they can't scan or read them. If a portal asks for "a PDF", send it without a password over the portal's secure upload instead.
- Merge first, protect last. Tools can't combine or convert encrypted files, so merge, compress and sign the document before you add the password.
- Test it. Open the protected copy once yourself with the password, on the kind of device the recipient uses.
Password or no password? Three common cases
- Payslip or bank statement to a landlord: protect it and send the password by text message. Better still, redact the details the landlord doesn't need, such as account numbers.
- Contract to a client: a password is useful if it travels by email; a shared link from your company's cloud storage with access limited to the client is an alternative.
- ID card copy for an application: add a watermark saying who the copy is for, then protect it.
Removing a password later
If you know the password, Unlock PDF saves a copy without it, so you don't have to type it every time.
Hide details instead of locking the whole file
If the recipient should see the document but not some details (an account number, an address), Redact PDF removes them permanently. See PDF security: protect, unlock and redact.