How to Password Protect a PDF
Anyone who receives or is forwarded an email can open its attachment. A password on the PDF means only the people who know it can read the statement, letter or contract inside.
Open passwords and permission passwords
A PDF can carry two kinds of password. An open password is needed to view the document at all. A permissions password only limits what a reader can do, such as copying text. ColaPDF sets one password that opens the file; the locked file also blocks editing and copying text. Printing still works.
How to password-protect a PDF
- Open Protect PDF and drop in the PDF.
- Type your password twice.
- Click Lock PDF and download the protected file.
Sharing a protected PDF
- Send the password another way than the file: text it if you emailed the document.
- Use a long password, not a word or a date.
- Keep it somewhere safe. ColaPDF never sees it, so nobody can recover it for you.
Because the encryption runs in your browser, the unprotected file never travels anywhere: it only leaves your device once you have locked it.
Do it now: Protect PDF