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Password protect a PDF

Add a password to open, or stop printing, copying and editing — in the dashboard or through the API. Your password is never stored.

Protect a PDF API reference

Lock the document, not the workflow

A password to open

Nobody reads the PDF without the password. The file is encrypted with AES-256, the strongest protection the PDF format has.

Or restrict what readers can do

Stop printing, copying text, editing, commenting or form filling, with or without a password to open. A separate owner password lifts the restrictions.

Your passwords are not kept

A password is used to write the file and then forgotten. It is never stored, logged or shown on the job.

Large scans welcome

Protect files up to 150 MB and 5000 pages. Even the largest is done in seconds, with no queue.

Same feature in the API

Call POST /pdf/protect from your own code, so payslips and statements leave your system already locked.

The document stays as it was

Pages, form fields, bookmarks and links are untouched. Only the protection is added.

How it works

Add a PDF

It is checked right away, including whether it is already protected.

Set a password

A password to open, restrictions with an owner password, or both.

Download

The protected copy is ready in a moment. Keep the password somewhere safe.

Protect PDF questions

What is the difference between the two passwords?
The password to open is the one a reader types to see the document. The owner password is the one that can change or remove the protection. If you only set a password to open, it does both jobs. Set an owner password as well when you want to restrict printing or copying: it has to be different, so that someone who can read the PDF cannot simply lift the restrictions.
Can I stop printing or copying without asking for a password?
Yes. Set an owner password and choose what to restrict, and leave the password to open empty. The PDF opens for anyone, and their PDF reader enforces the restrictions. Bear in mind that this relies on the reader respecting them: for anything confidential, set a password to open too.
How strong is the protection?
Files are encrypted with AES-256, which every current PDF reader, browser and phone opens. How well it holds depends on the password: a long passphrase is far better than a short word or a date of birth.
What if I forget the password?
PodPDF cannot recover it, because it never keeps it. Keep the original, unprotected file, or store the password in a password manager.
Can I protect a PDF that is already protected?
Not in one step. Unlock it first with Unlock PDF and its current password, then protect the unlocked copy with the new one.
How large can the PDF be?
Up to 150 MB and 5000 pages in the dashboard. Through the API, files up to 4 MB go in the request itself and larger ones are uploaded first; either way it is a single request.
Can I merge, split or edit the PDF afterwards?
A protected PDF has to be unlocked before it can be merged, split or edited, so protect it as the last step.
How long is the protected file kept?
A file you download straight away is not stored. A stored result can be downloaded again from Jobs for 7 days.

Need the opposite?

Remove the password from a PDF you hold the password for, so it can be merged, split or edited.

Unlock PDF Create an account