Unlock PDF
Type the password once and get a copy that opens without it, or free a file that blocks printing or copying. Nothing is guessed and nothing leaves your device.
Updated November 1, 2026
Options
This removes a password you know. It does not guess unknown ones.
How it works
- Drop one or more protected PDFs anywhere on this page.
- Type the password if a file asks for one; files that open freely need none.
- Download the unlocked copy, with every permission allowed.
Two kinds of locks
A PDF can ask for a password before it opens, or open freely but refuse to print, copy or let you edit. This tool removes both, for files you own or are allowed to change: type the password you know and get a copy that opens without it, or drop a restricted file and get one with every permission allowed. Up to 20 files of up to 200 MB each go in one run, so a year of statements with the same password is one job.
What this is for, and what it is not
It is for your own files: the bank statement that asks for your date of birth, the payslip protected with your ID number, the contract you locked before sending and now want to edit, the invoice that blocks copying for no reason. It is not a way into a document whose password you do not have. Nothing is guessed, nothing is tried in a loop, and a file whose password you do not know stays closed. If someone else locked a document on purpose, ask them.
After unlocking
The unlocked copy works with every tool here: compress it, merge it with others, split, sign, organize or watermark it, all of which refuse or stumble on an encrypted file. Text, images, bookmarks and form fields stay as they were; a certificate-based signature in the file no longer validates, since the file is written anew. The password and the file stay on your device throughout, and the original file is not modified. You can lock the result again with Protect PDF and a new password.
Why people use it
Free, no account
Every tool is free, with no sign-up, no e-mail address and no limit on how often you use it.
Your files stay on your device
The browser opens the file and processes it in memory, on your device. Nothing is uploaded, so nothing can be kept, leaked or looked at.
No watermark
The result is yours as it is: no watermark, no branding, no trial version.
Any device
A phone, a tablet or a computer with a current browser is enough: no app to install, no software to update.
Works offline after the first visit
The browser keeps the pages and their engines, so a tool you have opened once keeps working without a connection.
Open-source engines
The code that does the work is open-source software, named on the Licences page, running as WebAssembly in your browser.
Why it is private
Everything you type or drop here is handled by your browser, on your device. Nothing is uploaded. To verify, open your browser's developer tools, go to the Network tab, and use the tool: you will see no request carrying your data.
While a file is being processed, the counter under the result shows the page's network traffic: 0 requests and 0 B for your data.
How to check it yourself, step by step
What you can check yourself
Open your browser's developer tools on the Network tab before you drop a file: while the tool works you will see no request carrying your data, and the counter under every result shows the page's own measurement.
The site sets no cookies, so there is no cookie banner. Anonymous usage counts and error reports without file names are the only things that leave the page, as the privacy policy describes.
Every change goes through thousands of automated tests in three browser engines, including a guard that fails a test if a single byte of a file leaves the page.
Frequently asked questions
- Can it unlock a PDF if I don't know the password?
- No. When a file needs a password to open, its content is encrypted with a key made from that password; without it there is nothing to decrypt. This tool does not guess or crack passwords. A file that opens without a password but blocks printing, copying or editing can be freed, because every reader can already open its content.
- What exactly is removed?
- The encryption, all of it: the open password, the owner password and the restrictions on printing, copying, editing and comments. Before the run the panel shows what the first file restricts; afterwards the result says what was removed. Text, images, bookmarks and form fields stay as they were.
- May I remove the restrictions of any PDF?
- Only unlock files you own or are allowed to change. Restrictions are often set by the program that made the file, without anyone asking for them; if someone else locked a document on purpose, ask them first.
- Is my password or my file sent anywhere?
- No. qpdf runs as WebAssembly in your browser. The password lives only while the page is open: it never goes into the address bar, the browser's storage or any request.
- Why is the size a little different?
- The file is written anew without encryption: each stream loses its encryption padding and the cross-reference table is rebuilt. The pages are not compressed again.
- Can I unlock a bank statement or payslip that asks for a password?
- Yes, if you know the password the bank or employer set, usually a date of birth or an ID number. Type it once and keep the copy that opens freely.
- Can I remove a PDF password on my phone?
- Yes, in the browser, with no app. Choose the file, type the password and download the unlocked copy; the password never leaves the phone.
- Is the original file changed?
- No. You download a new copy without encryption; the protected file on your device stays as it was, so you can keep both.
- Will form fields and signatures survive?
- Form fields, bookmarks and links stay. A certificate-based signature will no longer validate, because the file is written anew; the visible signature image remains.
- Can I unlock several PDFs at once?
- Yes, up to 20 per run. They are tried with the same password; a file that needs a different one is reported so you can run it on its own.
Install it as an app
Chrome, Edge and Android browsers offer to install this site from the address bar or the menu; on iPhone use Share, then Add to Home Screen. It opens like an app, keeps working offline and still processes everything on your device.