How to Password Protect a PDF Before You Email It
Add a password to a PDF in your browser, choose which permissions to allow, and understand what PDF encryption does and does not protect.
Open Protect PDF — free, in your browser
Encrypt the file before it leaves your device
A password on the PDF means the attachment is useless to anyone the mail is forwarded to or intercepted by. The PDF Gen encrypts the document in your browser, so the unprotected file is never uploaded to a service on the way.
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Steps to add a password
Open the free Protect PDF tool
- Open the Protect PDF tool and select your file.
- Type the password twice so a typo cannot lock you out.
- Choose whether to allow printing, copying, and editing.
- Download the protected PDF and open it once to confirm it asks for the password.
Choosing permissions
The password controls who can open the document. The permissions control what they can do once it is open: printing, copying text, and making changes can each be allowed or withheld. Leave printing on for anything a recipient may need to sign or file, and turn copying off for drafts you would rather not see pasted elsewhere.
What a PDF password does not do
- Send the password separately, never in the same email as the file.
- A password cannot be recovered — if you lose it, the document cannot be opened.
- Permissions are honored by well-behaved PDF readers; they are not an absolute block.
- Anyone who has the password can remove the protection again.