Contracts, bank statements, medical records — some documents shouldn’t be readable by anyone who gets hold of the file. Adding a password encrypts your PDF so only people with the password can open it. Here’s how to do it in seconds, free.
When to password-protect a PDF
- Sensitive personal data — IDs, financial or medical documents.
- Confidential business files — contracts, reports, internal plans.
- Anything shared over email, which is easy to forward by accident.
How to password-protect a PDF (step by step)
- 1
Open the Protect PDF tool
Go to the FavorPDF Protect PDF page.
- 2
Upload your PDF
Drag it in or click to browse.
- 3
Set a password
Choose a strong, unique password you can share securely with the recipient.
- 4
Download the encrypted file
Save the protected PDF — it will require the password to open.
Choose a strong password
Encryption is only as strong as the password. Use a long, unique passphrase, and never send the password in the same email as the file — share it through a separate channel.
Is it safe to do online?
Yes. Your file is encrypted on our servers over a secure connection and automatically deleted 30 minutes after processing. Need to remove a password later? Use the Unlock PDF tool.