Contracts, bank statements, medical letters and ID scans deserve care. GrovePDF processes them in your browser, so they are never uploaded, and these four tools control who can open them and what they reveal.
Protect a PDF with a password
Protect PDF encrypts the file with AES-256, the strongest standard PDF encryption, supported by all current readers. Only people who know the password can open it. You can also block printing, copying or editing, but some programs ignore those restrictions, so rely on the password for real protection.
Don't lose the password: it can't be recovered by anyone. Keep an unprotected copy somewhere safe, or store the password in a password manager.
Unlock a PDF you're allowed to open
Unlock PDF removes the password from a PDF when you know it, so you don't have to type it every time, and lifts printing, copying and editing restrictions (which doesn't need a password). It can't open a file whose password you don't know, and you should only unlock files you have the right to use.
Redact: remove private details for good
Drawing a black box over text in most editors only covers it: the text is still there and can be copied out. Redact PDF removes it. Each page with a redaction is rebuilt with the black boxes painted in, so the text underneath no longer exists, while the rest of the page's text stays searchable.
- Type a name or number in Find text and choose Mark all to box every occurrence on every page.
- Draw boxes over signatures, photos or parts of scans.
- Check the result before saving.
Flatten forms and comments before sending
Form fields, comments, highlights and stamps normally sit on top of the page and can be edited or hidden. Flatten PDF draws them into the page exactly as they look, so the recipient sees what you saw and can't change your answers. With Forms and comments, text stays selectable and links keep working; Whole pages as images makes everything fixed.