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Protect PDF files with AES-256 encryption and custom access permissions.
Your file is deleted from our server right after processing.
Your file is uploaded securely to run this tool, then deleted from our server immediately after processing — never stored, logged, or shared.
1. Drag-and-drop or select your file in the workspace above.
2. Adjust any options this tool shows for your document.
3. Click "Process Protect PDF" to run the conversion.
4. Download the finished file — your upload is deleted from our server right after processing.
Protect PDF locks a document behind a password and encrypts it with AES-256, so only someone who enters that password can open it. Type a password, confirm it in the second field so a typo doesn't lock you out of your own file, and DocShift runs the document through the same encryption standard used by password managers and full-disk encryption tools before handing back a copy that prompts for that password on open. As you type, a strength meter marks the password Weak, Medium, or Strong — worth watching, since a short or guessable password undermines strong encryption no matter how good the underlying algorithm is.
PDF encryption technically supports two separate roles — a user password just to open the file, and an owner password that controls permissions like printing or copying — but DocShift keeps things simple by using the single password you set for both. That means there is no separate view-only or print-only tier: whoever has the password gets full access to the document, so treat it like any password guarding something sensitive rather than a lightweight PIN you'd hand out freely.
Set the wrong password by mistake, or need the file back the way it was? Unlock PDF reverses the process, as long as you still know the password you used to lock it. It's also worth signing a document before you protect it, not after — encrypting the file first will stop DocShift's signer, and other editing tools, from being able to open it at all once it's locked down.
DocShift deletes your file from our server the moment processing finishes — nothing is stored, logged, or shared. There's nothing to install and no sign-up: your document is ready in seconds.
Set a password, confirm it, and DocShift encrypts your PDF so only someone with that password can open it — no account or payment required.
AES-256 — the same encryption strength used by password managers and full-disk encryption tools — applied using the password you set when locking the file.
Both. DocShift uses a single password for the whole file instead of separate open and permissions passwords, so anyone who has it gets full access — there's no view-only tier.
Yes — Unlock PDF reverses it, as long as you still know the password you set.
Sign it first. Once a PDF is encrypted, DocShift's signer (and other editing tools) can no longer open it to add a signature.