Remove PDF password protection directly in your browser
Drag & drop a password-protected PDF here, or click to browse
Maximum file size: 128 MB
All processing happens locally in your browser. Your files and password never leave your computer.
If you need more than PDF Unlock
Remove PDF password protection right in your browser — supports RC4-128, AES-128, and AES-256 encryption. 100% free, no upload, no sign-up, your password never leaves your device.
AES-256 DecryptionOfflineNo UploadNo Sign-up
| Feature | Ours | SmallPDF | iLovePDF |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unlock password-protected PDF | Free | $12/mo | Free (80 MB limit) |
| Upload required | No — local processing | Yes | Yes |
| Sign-up required | No | Yes for free tier | No |
| AES-256 support | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Works offline after first load | Yes | No | No |
No. The password is processed entirely inside your browser via WebAssembly — it never leaves your computer. The same is true for the PDF file itself. You can verify this by disconnecting from the internet after the page loads; Unlock will still work fully offline.
Our unlocker supports the standard PDF password protection used by Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Word's Save as PDF, LibreOffice, and most other PDF tools: RC4-128, AES-128, and AES-256 (PDF 1.4 through 2.0 standards).
No. Adobe DRM, Microsoft Information Rights Management (IRM), and other enterprise Rights Management systems use a different cryptographic layer (typically tied to an account or server license) that is not part of the PDF standard. To unlock those, you must first remove the DRM with the original software.
A user (open) password is required to view the document at all — this is what our tool removes. An owner password controls permission flags (print, copy, edit restrictions) and is not cryptographically enforced; built-in browser PDF viewers ignore it entirely. This tool unlocks user passwords; owner password restrictions can be removed by re-saving the file with any PDF editor.
This tool requires the original password — it cannot recover or crack a forgotten password. Because nothing is uploaded, the password never reaches our servers, so there is no recovery mechanism. Use a password manager (1Password, Bitwarden, LastPass) to retrieve or reset it.
Yes. We remove only the encryption wrapper — the text, images, fonts, layout, and metadata are preserved exactly. The unlocked file is the same document, just without the password requirement.
Yes, as long as the PDF itself is password-protected. Unlocking does not change the content, so scanned pages remain as images. If you need to extract text from scans, use our OCR tools after unlocking.
Yes, 100% free with no sign-up, no watermarks, and no page limits. The file-size cap depends on your device (typically 128–256 MB) and is enforced locally. There is no premium tier — the unlocked file is yours, with no strings attached.
For deeper PDF editing beyond what a free browser tool can do, PDF Agile's editor handles text reflow and redaction in one place.
Our tool preserves layout on merge or split but doesn't offer in-place text editing — PDF Agile does.
If you handle confidential PDFs on public Wi-Fi, a no-logs VPN protects the upload from network snooping.
Even browser-only tools can leak DNS or IP metadata on hotel/airport networks. A VPN closes that gap.
After password-protecting your PDF, store the password in NordPass so you never have to remember it yourself.
Strong PDF passwords are unusable if they live in a notes app — a password manager keeps them encrypted and autofill-ready.