Encrypt it on your device so it needs your password to open — we never see the file or the password.
Encrypt it on your device so it needs your password to open — we never see the file or the password.
Add a password to a PDF without uploading it anywhere. GhostPDF encrypts the document in your browser using AES (the standard PDF encryption scheme), so the file requires your password to open in Adobe Acrobat, Apple Preview, Chrome, and every other compliant viewer. The password never leaves your tab — there is no server that could see, log, or leak it. As part of protecting the file, identifying metadata (author, title, producer) is also wiped. Free, no signup.
Drop your PDF
Drag the PDF onto the page or click to browse. It opens in the GhostPDF studio with Password-protect pre-selected.
Set a password
Type the password that will be required to open the document. It's used for encryption locally and is never transmitted or stored.
Download the protected PDF
The encrypted file downloads straight from your browser. Anyone opening it — in any standard PDF viewer — will need the password.
How do I password-protect a PDF without uploading it?
Encrypt it in the browser. GhostPDF uses a maintained pdf-lib fork with AES encryption support running entirely client-side — your document and your password stay on your device.
Will the password work in Acrobat / Preview / Chrome?
Yes. The output uses standard PDF encryption, so any compliant viewer — Adobe Acrobat, macOS Preview, Chrome's built-in viewer, mobile PDF apps — will prompt for the password and open the file normally.
Do you ever see or store my password?
No. The encryption runs in your browser tab; the password is never sent anywhere. That also means we can't recover it — if you forget the password, the document can't be opened, so keep it somewhere safe.
How strong is the protection?
The document is encrypted with AES per the PDF specification. Real-world strength depends mostly on your password — a long, unique passphrase is far more important than the cipher.
Can I remove the password later?
Yes — if you know it. Use the GhostPDF Unlock tool with the password to produce an unprotected copy.
Every GhostPDF tool runs entirely in your browser. Your file is never uploaded — there's no upload endpoint to send it to.