A password on a PDF stops anyone without it from opening the file. It is a sensible step before emailing contracts, payslips, medical records, or anything else you would not want a stranger to read.

Steps to password-protect a PDF on PDFCherry: upload the file, set a password, apply protection, then download the locked PDF.
The steps covered in this guide.

Add a password

  1. Open the Protect PDF tool and upload your file.
  2. Enter a strong password. A long passphrase is easier to remember and harder to guess than a short complex string.
  3. Download the protected file and test it in a PDF reader.
  4. Send the password to the recipient through a separate channel, not in the same email as the file.

Change or remove a password

  • Remove it: if you know the password, Unlock PDF produces a copy with no password. Only do this for files you own or are authorised to open.
  • Replace it: Change PDF Password swaps an existing password for a new one in a single step.

Good habits

  • Keep an unprotected master copy somewhere safe. If you forget the password, the file cannot be recovered.
  • Do not reuse an important account password as a document password.
  • A password controls who can open the file; it does not track what happens to it afterwards.

Frequently asked questions

What happens to the password I type in?

It is used only in memory for that one operation and is never logged, stored, or backed up.

Can you recover a password I have lost?

No. There is no way to retrieve or bypass a password on a file you cannot open.

Is the protected file kept on the server?

No. The upload and the result are deleted automatically a short time after processing.

Get started with Protect PDF.