Protect PDF with a password
Encrypt a PDF with a password.
- PDF & Office
- Free to use
- Server processed
Add your file
Set your options
Run Protect PDF
Processed on our servers. Uploaded over TLS and deleted an hour later — 24 hours if you are signed in.
Three steps
How to use Protect PDF
- Step 01
Pick your input
Drag a single application/pdf into the upload area, or click to browse.
- Step 02
Configure & run
Adjust the options (password, allow print, allow copy) and click Run. We process the file on our own infrastructure — no third-party APIs in the path.
- Step 03
Download the result
A single application/pdf is downloadable below the form.
Server-processed files are encrypted at rest with a per-tenant key and deleted an hour after upload — 24 hours if you are signed in. We do not use third-party processing APIs.
About protect pdf
Encrypt a PDF with AES-256. Restrict printing or copying. It sits in the pdf & office shelf alongside 83 other pdf & office tools, needs no account, and keeps the same behaviour whether you open it here or call it through the REST API.
It takes a file in PDF and gives back PDF. The work happens on our servers, and the upload is encrypted per file and deleted an hour later — 24 hours if you are signed in. The same operation is available programmatically at POST /v1/pdf/protect.
Protect PDF questions
Where does Protect PDF process my file?
On our own servers. This tool needs more than a browser tab can provide, so the file is uploaded over TLS, processed on our infrastructure — no third-party processing APIs are in the path — and both the input and the result are deleted within an hour.
Can I run Protect PDF on several files at once?
Yes. Protect PDF takes one file at a time, so selecting several runs it once per file, one after another, and you get a result for each.
Do I need an account to use Protect PDF?
No. Protect PDF works without signing in, and that is not a trial — it is how the free tier works. An account only matters for things that need one to exist at all: larger server jobs against your quota, API keys, saved workflows and billing.
Can I run Protect PDF from my own code?
Yes. Every tool on the site is reachable from the REST API with the same slug — `pdf-protect` — and the same options as this page, so anything you can do here you can automate against your own files.