Password Protect PDF Online Free
Lock any PDF with a password in seconds. Recipients will need the password to open the file. Free, no signup, files never leave your browser.
🔒 Your file never leaves your browser. All processing is done locally.
Viewers must enter this password to open the PDF.
How to Password Protect a PDF
- 1
Upload your PDF
Click the upload zone or drag and drop your PDF. Your file stays on your device and is never sent to a server.
- 2
Set a password
Enter the password viewers will need to open the document. Optionally set a separate owner password to restrict editing permissions.
- 3
Download the protected PDF
Click "Protect PDF" and download the password-protected file. Test it by opening it in a PDF viewer and entering your password.
PDF password protection is the standard way to control who can open sensitive documents — contracts, financial records, personal information — before sharing them by email or cloud storage. want2convert applies encryption entirely in your browser, so neither the file nor the password ever touches a server.
Open password vs owner password: The open password (also called the user password) is required for any viewer to open the document. The owner password (permissions password) is a separate credential used to change permissions or remove encryption. If you leave the owner password blank, it defaults to the open password.
Default permissions:The protected PDF allows reading and high-quality printing. Copying text, modifying the document, and adding annotations are disabled. This is the standard “distribute but protect” configuration.
Important: Store your password in a password manager. There is no way to recover a lost password from a PDF.