How to Password Protect a PDF on Mac and Windows [Both Online and Offline]

As technology advances, privacy concerns are becoming more critical. If you want to prevent others from copying your PDF files, flattening the PDF is a common method. However, applying a lock to your documents can also be highly effective.

Read on to learn how to quickly add password protection to a PDF on both Windows and Mac. If you also need to markup secured PDF documents, check out our guide on how to edit a secured PDF.

How to Add Password to a PDF for Free Using PDFgear

PDFgear is a free, all-in-one PDF editor with many features, making it one of the best PDF editors. With PDFgear, you can compress, crop, split, merge, convert, add comments, sign, highlight, and protect PDFs.

PDFgear can protect your documents with high encryption and also unlock PDFs without a password if needed.

If you use PDF tools often, PDFgear is a great free alternative to Adobe Acrobat. You can easily set a password for your PDFs using PDFgear. Download PDFgear on your Windows or Mac to password-protect PDFs without Acrobat.

Step 1. Import PDF File to PDFgear

Open PDFgear > Click Open File at the left pane to browse and add files from your device.

Step 2. Password Protect Your PDF

After opening a PDF in PDFgear, you will see many editing features, including highlight, underline, add page numbers, rotate PDF, and more, under each tab.

Now, navigate to the Tools tab in the top menu bar, and click the Password button. A dialog box will appear. Enter and confirm your desired password in the corresponding fields.

Step 3. Save the Encrypted PDFgear

Click “OK” to confirm the password settings. Save the PDF to apply the password protection by tapping the Save button or pressing Ctrl + S.

How to Secure PDF with Password on Mac Using Preview

Preview is a very powerful PDF reader that comes with Mac, it has a straightforward interface that makes it easy to navigate and perform tasks like setting a password.

Besides password protection, Preview allows for other basic PDF editing tasks, such as merging PDFs, adding annotations, and filling out forms. Here are 3 steps for you to password a PDF using Preview on Mac:

Step 1. Open a PDF in the Preview app on your Mac. Go to File > Export.

Step 2. Click the Permissions button and follow these steps:

To set a password for opening the PDF, check “Require Password To Open Document.” Enter and confirm the password.

To set permissions, check the boxes next to the actions you want to allow without a password. Leave them unchecked to require a password.

Step 3. In the Owner Password section, enter and confirm a password. This can be the same as or different from the first password.

Step 4. Click Apply, then click Save. The changes will be active the next time the PDF is opened.

The Preview app is native to the Mac system, and this method is not available for Windows or other operating systems.

How to Create Password for PDF on Windows Using Acrobat

Adobe Acrobat offers many PDF tools, such as editing, converting, and protecting. It’s trusted by professionals and widely used in various industries.

When you password-protect a PDF with Adobe Acrobat, you get advanced security options like different encryption levels and permission settings.

Step 1. Launch Adobe Acrobat and open the PDF file you want to protect.

Step 2. Go to File > and select Protect Using Password.

Step 3. Choose whether you want to set a password for viewing or editing the PDF.

Step 4. Enter and confirm your password. Save the PDF.

However, Adobe Acrobat is relatively expensive and uses a subscription model. Its extensive features can be complex for beginners.

How to Set Password for PDF Using Microsoft Word

For those who are already using Microsoft Office, Word allows you to edit the document before saving it as a PDF. After opening a PDF with the Word app, you can easily add a password to the file.

However, Word may not perfectly convert complex PDF layouts. We recommend using PDFgear’s online PDF to Word converter to ensure intact format and layout.

Step 1. Open Microsoft Word and go to File > Open. Select the PDF file you want to protect. Word will convert the PDF to an editable Word document.

A warning will appear, indicating potential formatting loss during the conversion. Click OK to proceed.

Step 2. Go to File > Info. Click on Protect Document > Encrypt with Password. Enter and confirm your password.

Step 3. Save the document as a PDF again by going to File > Save As, and choose PDF format.

How to Add Password to PDF Online for Free

For those who don’t want to download third-party software, Adobe also provides an online tool for users to lock PDFs with password protection.

As Adobe is the inventor of the PDF, using its online services carries relatively low privacy risks. Follow this guide to encrypt PDF files in just 3 steps.

Step 1. Go to the Adobe Acrobat online tool. Click on the Select a file button. Browse and select the PDF file you want to password-protect.

Step 2. Once the PDF is uploaded, you will see an option to Protect PDF. Enter your desired password in the provided field. Confirm the password.

Step 3. Click on Set Password. The tool will process your request and apply the password to the PDF.

Once the password is applied, you will be prompted to download the protected PDF.

Benefits and Common Scenarios of Using PDF Password Protection

❶ Ensuring that only authorized individuals can access sensitive information, regardless of their operating system.

❷ Sharing confidential documents such as tax forms, medical records, and sales reports securely.

❸ Providing a school with a child’s information in a protected manner.

❹ Preventing unauthorized copying and printing of a document without permission.

❺ Keeping information safe and protected against hacking attempts.

FAQs

How Can I Secure a PDF for Free?

Currently, many PDF editors offer either paid services or free trial services. However, PDFgear is a completely free tool. You can secure a PDF document in just three easy steps: upload the PDF, click on “Protect”, select the “Password” option, enter a password of your choice, and click “OK”.

How to Password Protect a PDF File on Windows 10?

While Windows 10 doesn’t have a built-in tool to directly add passwords to PDFs, you can follow this article to use PDFgear software or Microsoft Word to encrypt a PDF with password protection.

Can I Send a Password-Protected PDF Via Email?

Yes, you can! Simply use PDFgear to open the PDF you want to add a password to. Then, set and save the password, and add the encrypted document as an attachment to the email to send it securely.

Conclusion

Protecting your PDFs with a password is essential, and there are several ways to do it on both Windows and Mac. You can use PDFgear, the Preview app on Mac, Microsoft Word, Adobe Acrobat software, or the Adobe Acrobat online tool.

We recommend using PDFgear because it supports both Windows and Mac and makes adding a password to your PDFs a breeze.