The risky habit
- You upload the PDF to a website to encrypt it
- The file travels unprotected to a server you do not control
- You do not know what is kept afterwards
Windows software · PDF password protection
Password protect a PDF without uploading it online
Add a password to your PDFs in seconds, right on your computer or phone. Nothing is sent online.
Start your 7-day trial →Sign up in 1 minute: name, email, password.
- 7-day trial, no card
- Then from $12.89 a month
- 14-day money-back guarantee
- Cancel at any time
On your phone?
PDF Protect Plus installs on your computer (Windows or Mac). Get the link by email and install the app when you’re at your desk.
On Android, you can also try the mobile app. See the Android app →
- AES-256
- Processed on your device
- Offline for up to 14 days
- Windows, macOS and Android
In 3 steps
Protecting a PDF, simply
- 1
Choose the PDF and the password
Open the protection tool and select your file. Type a password of at least 12 characters, or let the app generate one for you. A generated password avoids the names, birthdays and office patterns that people tend to reuse.
- 2
Set optional permissions
If you want, restrict printing, copying content, modifying, or adding annotations and filling forms. These restrictions are honored depending on the PDF reader the recipient uses. Either way, the password is still required to open the file.
- 3
Save the new copy and keep the password
The app saves a new, encrypted PDF and leaves your original untouched. It then offers to save a copy of the password in a text file. Store that file in a different folder than the PDF, or keep the password in the encrypted local password vault.
They use it every day
What people who use it say
Feedback sent by our users, published with their permission.
-
As a small consulting firm, we know that our clients’ trust rests on absolute confidentiality. PDF Protect Plus has become our go-to step before sharing any deliverable, audit report or organizational assessment. The app protects our documents with strong encryption, right on our own computers, without adding to our consultants’ already busy schedules. It’s tangible proof of our professional standards, and the executives we work with feel reassured from the very first file we send.
LCS Lynx Consulting & Services -
J’envoie régulièrement une quinzaine de PDF à mes clients, chacun avec son propre mot de passe. Avec l’import du tableau des mots de passe, tout est protégé en une seule opération : je gagne plus d’une heure à chaque envoi.
David Jean Directeur · SolarThium -
Even for a small business, protecting client data is a priority. PDF Protect Plus lets us apply the same document security standards as a large company, without an oversized subscription or needless complexity. Setting a password for each client works flawlessly. It has become a key tool in our day-to-day work and a sign of real discipline whenever we share sensitive documents.
PS Protocole Strategies -
We were looking for a way to secure a steady flow of documents without disrupting our teams’ daily routine. PDF Protect Plus turned out to be the ideal solution: passwords are set up in no time, each file gets exactly the right protection, and everything runs smoothly. We haven’t had a single technical issue. It’s a simple, affordable way to bring consistent security to all our business exchanges.
DA Dolphin Agribusiness
With PDF Protect Plus
- Encryption happens on your device
- AES-256 password required to open it
- Your original stays untouched
- Works even without a connection
The question we get
Your computer can already protect a PDF. Why pay?
Your word processor or your computer’s PDF viewer can put a password on a document. For the occasional PDF, they are enough. PDF Protect Plus is for when you send often, to many clients.
Tools already on your computer
PDF Protect Plus
PDF Protect PlusA password on a PDFYesYes, AES-256
A whole batch protected in one goOne file at a timeYes, dozens of files at once
A different password for each clientTyped by hand, one by oneRead from your CSV sheet (saved from Excel)
Client file: cover, table of contents, page numbersAssembled by handYes, in a single PDF
Metadata cleaned before sendingDepends on the toolYes
Original never modifiedDepends on the toolAlways: a new file is created
Forty PDFs, one password per client, in one go
Sending the same kind of document to many clients? Import your password spreadsheet: each file gets its client’s password, and the app flags what needs checking before it protects anything.
Why PDF Protect Plus
Everything you need to send a sensitive PDF
AES-256 encryption
The PDF only opens with the password you choose.
100% local
The file never leaves your device, neither to encrypt it nor afterwards.
Offline
Protect your documents even without an internet connection.
Original preserved
A protected copy is created; your original file does not change.
Many PDFs at once
Protect a whole batch of files in one operation.
All your devices
Windows, macOS and Android with the same account.
Your next PDF, protected in seconds
From $12.89 a month · or 2 months saved on yearly
14-day money-back guarantee on your first payment
What a password protects, and what it does not
- Nobody can open the PDF without the password
- A misaddressed attachment stays unreadable
- Once opened by someone who knows the password, the document can be read
- So share the password through another channel (text message, call)
What our users protect
Pricing
A plan for you, or for your team
Solo
1 licence included
A personal licence for working on your own.
$12.89
/ pack / month
or $10.74/month on the annual plan ($128.90/year, save $25.78)
Choose Solo- 1 named licence
- Windows, macOS and Android
- Updates included
Every licence in the pack is included. The owner is included.
Small
3 licences included
A pack of 3 licences for your small team.
$29.97
/ pack / month
or $24.97/month on the annual plan ($299.70/year, save $59.94)
Choose Small- 3 named licences
- Windows, macOS and Android
- Updates included
Every licence in the pack is included. The owner is included.
Payment details and the final price are shown at checkout. Taxes may apply.
Our commitments
An honest subscription, in writing
- 7-day trial, no card
Try everything without entering a card number.
- Nothing charged without your consent
When the trial ends, you pick a plan, or nothing at all.
- Reminder before every renewal
An email reaches you a few days before each renewal, with the amount.
- Cancel anytime
From your account, without writing to us. Access stays open until the end of the paid period.
- 14-day money-back guarantee
On your first payment, no questions asked.
- Move to a new computer yourself
Sign in on the new one: the old one is deactivated. Anytime, without writing to us.
- Reply within 24 hours
Support replies by email within 24 hours, 7 days a week.
- No ads
Not in the app, not in your documents.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if I forget the password?
The app cannot recover a forgotten password. That is what makes the encryption meaningful. Save the password in the encrypted local vault or in the text file the app offers, stored in a different folder than the PDF.
Does the app modify my original PDF?
No. It saves a new, protected copy and keeps the original untouched.
Which encryption is used?
AES-256, with a password of at least 12 characters that you choose or that the app generates.
Will the permission settings stop someone from printing?
Only if their PDF reader honors those restrictions, and support varies. The password to open the file is always required, and that is the protection to count on.
Can I remove a password later?
Yes, if you know it. The unlock tool removes a password you know from a PDF, and batch unlock does the same for several files.
Stop sending sensitive PDFs unprotected
Try it on your real documents, on your computer. You decide at the end of the trial.
Start your 7-day trial →- 7-day trial, no card
- Then from $12.89 a month
- 14-day money-back guarantee
- Cancel at any time
Learn more
You have a PDF that should only be opened by one person: a tax organizer, a payroll register, a loan package, a client’s year-end statements. Email is how it will travel, so the file itself needs a lock. The usual search result sends you to a website that asks you to upload the document before it adds the password, which means the unprotected version has already left your office.
PDF Protect Plus adds the password on your own computer or Android device. You get an encrypted copy that is ready to send, and the unencrypted file never goes anywhere you did not put it yourself.
Why the password belongs on your side of the connection
Protecting a file is about controlling who can read it. Sending the readable version to an outside server so that someone else can encrypt it adds a party to the list before the lock is even in place. With PDF Protect Plus, the file is read, encrypted and saved on your device. Your PDFs are never sent to our servers: they are processed on your device.
The password you set is not transmitted either. Your account and license require an internet connection, but that connection is used for sign-in and license checks, not for your documents or the secrets that protect them.
What the protection actually does
The app encrypts the PDF with AES-256. Without the password, the pages cannot be opened in a standard PDF reader. The minimum of 12 characters is there because a short password is the weak point of any encrypted file, no matter how strong the encryption behind it.
Permissions are a separate, optional layer. They tell compatible readers not to allow printing, copying, editing or annotating once the file is open. Treat them as a courtesy setting for the recipient’s software, and rely on the password for the real protection.
Protect a whole batch at once
When you have a stack of files to send, such as one statement per client, batch protection handles them in a single pass. You can apply one shared password to every file, or let the app generate a different password for each one.
With a different password per file, the app saves the list of passwords in a TXT file. That file holds secrets in plain text, so keep it separately from the PDFs, never attach it to the same email, and delete it once each password is stored somewhere safe. Batch unlock is available too, for when you need to remove known passwords from several files.
Good habits when sending a protected PDF
A strong password loses its value if it travels with the file. Send the PDF one way and the password another.
- Share the password by text message or a phone call, never in the same email as the attachment.
- Agree on the channel with your client ahead of time, so they know to expect it.
- Double-check the recipient address before you press send.
- Keep your original file and your password record in separate places.
Common reasons to add a password
- Tax documents for a client — Encrypt a draft return or organizer before emailing it for review and signature.
- Payroll and HR files — Protect payroll registers, offer letters and personnel records sent to a manager or an outside advisor.
- One file per client, many clients — Use batch protection with a generated password per file when you send monthly statements to a list of clients.
- Scanned forms on a phone — On Android, scan a signed paper form with the camera, save it as a PDF, and protect it right there before sharing.
Read next
Your account and license require an internet connection.