Password Protect a PDF
Upload a PDF, enter a password that will be needed to open it, optionally set an owner password and permissions, then click Encrypt PDF. PDFYork encrypts the file with 256-bit AES in your browser, so neither the document nor your passwords are sent to our server.
Before you start
- Where your file is processed
- In your browser. The file is read and processed on your device and is not uploaded to PDFYork.
- Account
- Not required. Without an account you can run 3 tasks per day across all tools. A free account raises the limit.
- Cost
- Premium tool. Free accounts get 3 premium tasks per day. After that, each task uses 100 credits, deducted when you download the result.
How to Use
Upload the PDF
Drop the file you want to protect onto the upload area.
Set the open password
Type the User Password. Anyone opening the file will need it. You can leave it empty if you only want to restrict actions.
Optionally set an owner password and permissions
The Owner Password controls changes to permissions. Untick the actions you want to restrict, such as printing, copying or modifying.
Encrypt and save
Click Encrypt PDF, download the protected file and store the passwords somewhere safe.
User password and owner password: what each one does
| Setting | What it controls | Who needs it |
|---|---|---|
| User password | Opening and viewing the document. The content is encrypted with it. | Everyone you want to read the file. |
| Owner password | Changing permissions or removing protection in software that respects PDF permissions. | Only you or the document owner. |
| Permissions | Whether printing, copying text, modifying, annotating, filling forms, assembling pages and accessibility tools are allowed. | Applied automatically when the file is opened. |
How strong is the protection?
PDFYork uses qpdf to apply 256-bit AES encryption, the strongest method defined in the PDF standard and supported by current versions of Adobe Acrobat, Preview, Chrome and most other readers. The real strength depends on your password: a long passphrase is much harder to guess than a short word.
Permission restrictions are a different matter. They rely on the reading software to honour them, and some tools ignore them. Treat permissions as a deterrent and the open password as the actual protection.
Before you encrypt
- Make every other change first. Merging, compressing or editing an encrypted file requires unlocking it again.
- Keep the password somewhere safe. PDFYork does not store it and cannot recover it for you.
- If the file contains hidden information such as author names, run Remove Metadata or Sanitize PDF before encrypting.
Use Cases
Emailing payslips or tax documents
Protect a PDF before sending it by email, and share the password by phone or another channel.
Sharing drafts for review only
Allow viewing but turn off modifying and copying on a draft contract sent to the other party.
Storing records on shared drives
Add an open password to HR or medical PDFs kept in shared folders.