Protect PDF

Lock a PDF with AES-256 encryption and decide what readers are allowed to do with it. The password and the file stay in your browser, they are never uploaded to a server.

Add your PDF

PDF only

Drop a PDF here or click to browse

Best for files under 50 MB

PDF

Result

Add a PDF to start

Your protected PDF will appear here

The original file is untouched. Only the downloaded copy carries the password.

How to protect a PDF with a password

Add your PDF

Drop in the file you want to lock. It is read locally in the browser, nothing is uploaded.

Set the password and permissions

Choose an open password, then decide whether printing, copying and editing are allowed.

Download the protected PDF

The file is encrypted with AES-256 in your browser and is ready to download.

Why use Aihangsoft Protect PDF

AES-256 encryption

The strongest standard PDF supports, applied by the same engine that authors use to build the format.

Your password stays local

It is used inside the page to build the encrypted file and never travels over the network.

Free, no limits

No sign-up, no page limits and no watermark added to your document.

Two passwords, two jobs

Open password

Required before the document can be displayed at all. This is the setting that genuinely keeps a file private, because the content itself is encrypted.

Use case: contracts, payslips, medical records

Owner password

A second, separate password for whoever administers the document. It lets you change permissions later without handing out the reading password.

Use case: documents you may need to unlock again

Permission controls

Allow or block printing, copying text and images, and editing the document. Most readers respect these flags and grey out the matching commands.

Use case: sharing a draft that should not be reused

Your original stays untouched

The tool reads your file, writes a new encrypted copy and leaves the source alone. Nothing is modified in place and nothing is stored.

Use case: keeping an unprotected master copy

PDF protection FAQ

Yes. The PDF is encrypted with AES-256 by qpdf compiled to WebAssembly, and the random data used for the encryption key comes from your browser's own Web Crypto generator. Nothing is sent to a server.
No. Your password is only used inside the page to build the encrypted file. It is never transmitted, logged or stored, so keep a copy of it: a lost password cannot be recovered, by us or by anyone else.
The open password is required to view the file at all. The owner password controls the permission settings. If you leave the owner password empty, the open password is used for both.
Treat them as a clear signal rather than a lock. The permissions are part of the PDF standard and compliant readers honour them, but some third party tools ignore them. Only the open password gives real protection.
AES-256, the strongest standard PDF supports. Lower strengths such as 128-bit fall back to weaker algorithms, so this tool does not offer them.
Yes. Open the Unlock PDF tool, enter the password you set here and download a copy without protection. You must know the password, the tool does not break encryption.

Lock your document now

Free, private and unlimited. No account needed.

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