PDF Password: Protect or Remove a PDF Password
Add a password to a PDF with AES-256 encryption, or remove a known password, entirely in your browser. The file is never uploaded.
Adding a password uses AES-256 encryption. The file and the password stay on your device: nothing is uploaded, so the password is never transmitted or stored anywhere.
A PDF password tool with two modes. Protect mode encrypts a PDF with AES-256 and a password you choose, so the document cannot be opened without it. Remove mode takes a PDF you can already open and strips the password, producing an unlocked copy. Both run on the qpdf engine compiled to WebAssembly inside your browser. Because the work happens on your device, neither the document nor the password ever travels to a server, which matters when the file is a contract, statement, or anything confidential.
Password protection on a PDF does two jobs: it encrypts the file so the bytes are unreadable without the key, and it gates opening the document behind a password. This tool uses qpdf, a mature open-source PDF library, compiled to WebAssembly so the same encryption you would get from desktop software runs in a browser tab. Protect mode applies AES-256, the strongest scheme PDF supports, and sets your chosen password as the one needed to open the file. Remove mode reverses a known password: you supply the current password, and the tool writes a new copy with the encryption removed.
The privacy difference from cloud converters is the whole point. Upload-based services receive your unprotected document and your password on their servers, which is exactly the data you are trying to keep private. Here, the PDF is read into memory, processed by the in-browser engine, and written back out as a download. Nothing leaves the page, so the password is never transmitted and the file is never stored off your device.
A few limits follow from how PDF security works. Removing a password requires knowing it; this is not a tool for recovering a forgotten password or breaking encryption you do not have the key to. To re-protect a file with a new password, remove the old one first, then add the new one. Very large PDFs take longer because the entire file is processed locally and is bounded by your device's memory.
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Pick a mode and add your PDF
Choose Add password or Remove password, then drop your PDF onto the box or click to select it. The engine downloads once on first use.
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Enter the password
In protect mode, type the password you want to set. In remove mode, type the current password that opens the file.
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Process and download
Run the action and download the result: an encrypted copy in protect mode, or an unlocked copy in remove mode. The original file is unchanged.
Protect a sensitive document
Encrypt a bank statement, contract, or medical record with a password before emailing or storing it.
Unlock a PDF you own
Remove the password from a statement or report you can already open so you can read it without typing the password each time.
Re-share without the password
Strip protection from a file before handing it to a colleague who should not need the original password to view it.
Keep the document private
Encrypt or decrypt a confidential PDF without uploading it to a cloud service that would see its contents.
Is the PDF uploaded anywhere?
No. The encryption engine runs as WebAssembly in your browser. Your PDF and the password are processed on your device and never sent to a server, so neither is transmitted or stored remotely.
Can it remove a password I forgot?
No. Removing protection requires the correct current password. This tool decrypts a file you can already open; it does not recover forgotten passwords or break encryption you do not have the key for.
What encryption strength is used?
Protect mode applies AES-256, the strongest encryption defined by the PDF standard. The password you choose becomes the one required to open the document.
How do I change an existing password?
Use Remove password with the current password to get an unlocked copy, then switch to Add password and set the new one. PDF encryption cannot be re-keyed in a single step.
Why does removing a password sometimes fail?
The most common reason is an incorrect password. It can also happen if the file is not actually encrypted, or uses an unusual protection scheme. Double-check the password and that the PDF really opens with it.