Password Protect PDF
Encrypt a PDF file with user and owner passwords and configure custom permissions locally. Your files are never uploaded to our servers. ToolkitPoint processes them on your own computer, so confidential documents stay with you.
Processed in your browser. Your files are not uploaded.
How to use Password Protect PDF
- Select one or more PDFs under "Select one or more PDFs to password-protect".
- Type the "User Password (required to open and view)" and repeat it under "Confirm user password", or press "Generate strong password" to fill in a random 20-character one and "Copy password" to keep it.
- Optionally fill "Owner Password". Left empty, the tool sets a random owner key that it does not show, so the open phrase alone cannot change the permissions.
- Set the permission checkboxes (printing, copying, modifying, forms and annotations). Tick "Restrictions only" to let anyone open the file without a password while the owner password guards the permissions, and "Remove document properties" to clear title, author and dates before encrypting.
- Press "Encrypt & Download PDF". With "Reopen the encrypted file with the password to verify it" ticked, the tool decrypts its own output and reports the encryption type and page count before you rely on it; several files download together as protected-pdfs.zip.
Worked example
Load payslip.pdf and press Generate strong password to fill both boxes with a random 20-character string, then copy it. Untick printing, leave the Owner field empty and keep the verify box ticked. After Encrypt & Download PDF the result line reads "AES-256 (AESv3, revision 6) verified: reopened and checked, 2 pages, locked for opening" and protected-payslip.pdf is saved.
When to use this tool
- Sending a payslip by email so only the recipient with the password can open it.
- Encrypting a folder of scanned IDs with one password and downloading them as a single ZIP.
- Making a read-only copy that anyone can open but nobody can print or copy from in a compliant viewer, using Restrictions only mode.
Important limitations
Uses AES-256 (PDF 2.0, revision 6) applied by qpdf compiled to WebAssembly, which current Adobe Acrobat, Apple Preview and modern browsers can open; very old viewers limited to 40 or 128-bit encryption may not. Permission flags (print, copy, modify) are advisory: some software ignores them. Do not lose your password; the file cannot be opened without it and there is no reset. The qpdf code is downloaded from a CDN on first use.
Comparing alternatives
Other options for password protect pdf include iLovePDF, Smallpdf, PDF24, Adobe Acrobat.
ToolkitPoint is not affiliated with those services.
Frequently asked questions
Which encryption algorithm is used?
AES-256 (PDF 2.0, security handler revision 6), applied by qpdf compiled to WebAssembly and run in your browser. Current versions of Adobe Acrobat, Preview, Chrome and Edge open these files. Very old viewers that only know 40 or 128-bit encryption may not.
Do my file or password leave my computer?
No. Encryption runs in this tab. The only network requests download the qpdf and pdf-lib program code from ToolkitPoint, which needs a connection the first time. The page never sees your password on a server.
What if I leave the Owner Password empty?
A random owner key is generated and discarded, so the user phrase cannot be used to alter permission flags. If you want to change them later, encrypt the original again, or set an owner key you keep.
Are the permission checkboxes enforced?
They are flags stored in the file. Well-behaved viewers respect them, but some tools ignore them, so they discourage rather than prevent printing, copying or editing. The open password is the real barrier, and in "Restrictions only" mode there is none.
Can I recover a forgotten passphrase?
No. There is no reset and nothing is stored on our side. Save the credential in a manager and keep the original unencrypted document.
What does the "Remove document properties" option do?
It deletes the Info dictionary (title, author, creator, dates) and the XMP metadata stream before encrypting. It does not remove text or images in the pages. Encrypted or damaged files cannot be scrubbed, and the tool tells you so.