Protect PDF — Add a Password to Your PDF
Sending something confidential — a contract, payslip, or ID? Lock the PDF with a password so only people who know it can open it, and decide whether printing or copying is allowed.
How to password-protect a PDF
- Upload your PDF (drag & drop or browse).
- Choose Protect PDF, set a user password, and pick what's allowed (printing, copying, editing).
- Download the encrypted PDF. Your original upload is deleted from our server automatically.
Why use File Forge?
- Real encryption: the file is encrypted, not just “hidden” — the password is required to open it.
- Permission control: separately allow or block printing, copying text, and editing.
- Free & verifiably private: deleted after download, open source, no account.
How File Forge keeps your Protect PDF files private
When you use the Protect PDF tool, your file is uploaded over an encrypted HTTPS connection and processed on the server, then handed straight back to you. File Forge is built privacy-first, and — because the entire codebase is open source — every claim on this page is something you can verify line by line or run yourself, rather than a marketing promise you have to take on trust.
Your file is deleted the moment you are done
The file you upload is removed from our server as soon as the Protect PDF operation finishes, and the processed result is deleted the instant you download it. As a safety net, a background sweeper runs continuously and purges anything older than one hour, so nothing of yours lingers on disk. We never build a library of your documents, never resell them, and never train anything on them. There is no hidden retention and no analytics tied to your file contents.
Open source you can audit — or self-host
Most “free” online file tools ask you to trust a closed black box. File Forge is different: the complete source code is public on GitHub, so a developer can read exactly how the Protect PDF tool handles uploads, confirm the deletion logic, and even run a private copy on their own machine or server. Verifiable privacy beats a privacy policy you simply have to believe.
No account, no watermark, no upsell
There is no signup, no email wall, and no credit card. File Forge never stamps a watermark on your output and never caps you at “one free file” before demanding payment. The Protect PDF tool is genuinely free to use as often as you need, on any device with a web browser — no software to install and no extensions to add.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between the user and owner password?
The user password is required to open the document. The optional owner password controls permissions (like editing) without being needed just to view the file.
Can I remove the password later?
Yes — as long as you know it, use the free Unlock PDF tool to produce an unprotected copy.
Is my password stored anywhere?
No. It's used only to encrypt your file during processing, and your upload is deleted right after download. The code is open source so you can verify this.
More free tools
Unlock PDF · Watermark PDF · Compress PDF · Sign PDF · Merge PDF