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AnyFileStudio

Protect PDF

Drop a PDF in: if it is not protected we ask which password to add, if it is we ask the one it has. The document and the password stay on your device — there is no server to send them to.

Your file stays on your device: nothing is uploaded

How it works

The file decides the direction: an unprotected PDF gets protected, a protected one gets unlocked. To remove a password you need to know it — the document is opened with your password and rewritten without protection, keeping bookmarks, fields and attachments where they are. If you do not have the password this tool cannot help: it does not guess it or get round it. PDFs that open freely but forbid copying and printing have no password: those limits come off without one.

Frequently asked questions

How do I change a PDF’s password?
In two passes. Drop the PDF in, type its current password and download the unprotected copy. Then drop that copy in and choose the new password. A file that is already protected can only be unlocked here, which is why it takes two passes.
Should I add the password before or after other tools?
After, as the very last step. The site’s other tools can open a protected PDF if you type the password in its row, but what comes out is no longer protected. So compress, merge, sign or number it first, then protect the file you’re about to send.
Can I protect several PDFs at once?
No, one at a time: each file is protected, or unlocked, on its own. If you need a single protected document made from several PDFs, merge them first with “Merge PDFs” and then protect the result with one password.
Does protecting the PDF change anything in the document?
Not the content: pages, text, bookmarks, form fields and attachments stay as they are, and from then on opening it needs the password. The exception is an existing digital signature, which will no longer show as valid: that happens with any change to the file.

Your files are never uploaded. Anywhere.

Your file stays in your browser’s memory: it is read, processed and written back here. There is no server to send it to.

  • Processed locallyEverything happens on your device.
  • Nothing to upload, nothing to wait forNothing to upload, no waiting.
  • No files to deleteWe keep nothing: nothing reaches us.
YOUR DEVICEyour fileprocessingthe resultservernever gets here

Other tools in this category

Compress PDFLightens scans while keeping the text searchable.Merge PDFsSeveral PDFs into one document, in the order you choose.PDF to imagesEvery page becomes a JPG or PNG, at the resolution you choose.Split PDFOne page per file, by ranges, or in blocks.