When to encrypt a PDF
Sometimes you don't want a password on the file itself, but you also don't want the contents lifted straight out of it. Proposals and price lists are the usual cases.
This tool locks the document with an owner password, blocking editing, copying, and annotation by default while leaving printing and form filling available. An open password is optional.
How to use it
- 1Upload the PDF you want to encrypt.
- 2Set an open password only if you need one — leave it blank and anyone can open the file.
- 3Enter an owner password. This is what unlocks the restrictions later.
- 4Press "Encrypt and download", then open the result to check it.
Common questions
- What's the difference between the two passwords?
- The open password is needed to view the document; the owner password is what releases the restrictions. Keeping them different is what gives you a file that opens freely but can't be copied.
- Does blocking copying really stop it?
- Not completely. PDF permissions are closer to a request to the viewer — most programs honour them, some don't, and nothing stops a screenshot. For genuinely sensitive material, add an open password as well.
- I want finer control over what's allowed.
- PDF Permissions lets you switch printing, editing, copying, annotating, and form filling on and off individually.
- What if I lose the owner password?
- The restrictions can't be undone. Everything runs in your browser, so we don't have the password either. Keep an unencrypted original somewhere safe.