Sharing sensitive documents without password protection is risky. Financial reports, legal contracts, medical records, and personal information can end up in the wrong hands when PDF files are forwarded or stored without access controls. This free online tool lets you protect PDF files by adding password encryption, so only people with the correct password can open and view the document.
Adding a password to a PDF is one of the simplest and most effective ways to secure your documents before sharing them via email, cloud storage, or messaging platforms. Recipients will be prompted to enter the password before they can view any content, providing a reliable layer of access control that travels with the file itself.
Our protect PDF tool is designed with privacy in mind. The entire process runs in your browser — your files are never uploaded to a remote server. This means you can add password protection to confidential or sensitive documents without worrying about third-party access. There are no file-size limits, no watermarks, and no daily caps.
Whether you need to secure a single contract or protect a batch of files before archiving, this tool provides a straightforward solution. Combine it with our other PDF utilities — unlock, watermark, sign, merge — to build a complete document security workflow without leaving your browser.