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We remove protection from the PDF file. Removing password from pdf files Removing protection from pdf files

Password protecting a PDF is quite simple and the password can be easily added using Adobe's own tool or using a third party tool. The ability to add a password using multiple tools also means that it is quite difficult to remove the password manually if you want to make a PDF file free and accessible to others. Luckily, there are third party apps, such as the free one PDF Password Remover, which will allow you to remove the owner and user password (the former is used to restrict PDF editing, while the latter is needed to open the PDF).

It is worth distinguishing between these two important definitions:

Owner password: Also known as a "change permissions password," this is a password that the owner of a PDF document uses to restrict editing functions on the document (such as copying, printing, comments, and other text edits).


User password: This is the name and password that the user uses to access the password-protected PDF file.

However, the tools will require you to provide a user password if the PDFs are encrypted using AES 128 or AES 256. If the PDF file is password protected using a third-party tool or you have a user password, then you can remove all types of passwords in a few clicks .

Below are some tools that will allow you to remove the owner password and even the user password if conditions allow.

Note: You should only remove password protection from a PDF file that you own or have full rights to modify as you please.

The official way to remove PDF password is to use Adobe's own tool Adobe Acrobat Pro. This is a paid tool with a 30-day free trial, so you can easily remove protection inside the PDF viewer without the need for third-party tools.

Download Adobe Acrobat Pro from the official website for a 30-day fully functional trial or purchase it if needed. Open a protected PDF using your user password in Adobe Acrobat Pro.

Once inside, you can easily remove the PDF user owner and password. Press Secure(lock icon) in the main interface and in the menu, click on the button Remove Security.

You will be prompted for a password, enter it and click OK to remove the password. After the password is removed, save the document, otherwise the changes will not be applied, including removing the password.

Removing password from PDF using a third party program

The official way from Adobe is good, but not very functional. It requires you to enter your user password even if the PDF file is not encrypted. To simplify the process and take advantage of additional features, it is better to opt for third-party utilities.

Most third-party tools are free and allow you to remove password protection in single and batch modes. Below is the Free PDF Password Remover tool developed by 4dots Software, which is completely free and very easy to use.

Download the program and when installing, make sure you select the option Integrate with Windows Explorer, if you want to add an option Add file to the window context menu (this is convenient).

To add files, you can click on Add file or Add folder, depending on whether you want to add a file or folder containing protected PDF files.

Once the file(s) are added, you need to specify the output folder. Or click on the button Browse under Output Folder to select a folder manually, or use the drop-down menu to select the desired location.

Now that a folder has been selected to save the finished result, all you need to do is click on Remove Passwords - Remove passwords. If the file is not encrypted, the password will be removed (both the owner password and the user password).

If the file has been encrypted, you will be prompted to enter the user password. Simply enter your password and click on the "OK" button to create an unprotected file.

The new file will not have any password and will be accessible to anyone. You can also add files by simply dragging and dropping them into the tool's interface. Additionally, the option to add a file will also be added to the context menu (if you enabled it during installation). Simply right-click on the PDF file and select from the context menu Remove PDF Password.

Removing Password from PDF Using Online Tool

There are also many free online services that will allow you to download a secure PDF file and then remove the password. It may not be as convenient as using a desktop tool, but it has its advantages. It is also less secure since these services will have a copy of your files. Therefore, it is better not to use online tools if the PDF file contains sensitive information.

One such site is Unlock PDF. Very easy to use and does not require registration to work. The tool removes owner and user passwords from an unencrypted PDF file, or will ask for the user's password if the file is encrypted.

On the official website click on the button Choose file -Select file to select a PDF file from your computer. You can simply drag the file into the field Drop PDF here or download files from

This time we have a short review of an interesting online service, use it at your own discretion and only for good purposes. The service will help you understand the protection of PDF files, which is sometimes necessary in the following cases:

We are considering Pirate, this online service allows you to remove any (according to them) protection from PDF files. We did not actually check the operation of this service since we do not have protected PDF files, but we did not find any viruses, spam or other negative phenomena.

This is the main page - it is quite prosaic, there is a header, a logo and an input field with a review button.

Using the “browse” button, upload the file you need, wait for the service to process it, and then receive a link to the processed material.

UPD from 12/18/2010 About the FreeMyPDF service

Some readers were unable to open the file in the desired mode using Pirate, so we decided to expand the review and add another service that works in this direction.

The operation of the second service is also quite simple - upload the file and press the DoIT button!

The file size limit is 150 megabytes. No special skills are required to use.

UPD from 05/26/2011 About the PDFUnlock service

Another powerful service has appeared on the market for services for removing protection from PDF files, but, alas, it only works with files up to 5 megabytes inclusive, but can remove protection from PDF in some cases when nothing else helps.

Working with the service is as simple as in the two previous services. We download the file, wait and receive a link to the unlocked version. If the protection is set not for editing a file, but for opening it in general - this service will not help you.

UPD from 09/12/2011 About the PDF Pirate service

The Pirate service has updated its appearance and also added an HTML (website) converter to PDF format. You can launch both services from the main page, as shown in the figure below:

PS: Remember We are only reviewing the service - since it is quite unusual, you can use this service to remove protection at your own risk and only on your documents, otherwise you will have to answer for copyright infringement.

Protect file with password

Once you've downloaded your PDF, you can add a password to it by selecting the "Protect PDF" feature.

To do this, drag the file into the box above or upload from your device or the cloud, and then enter a new password to secure the document.

Protect PDF file with password

Protect PDF files with a password to prevent third parties from copying or printing your documents.

We offer an easy way to protect your PDFs with a password of your choice.

Why protect PDF files?

Password protecting PDF files is useful for a number of reasons. Firstly, only those people to whom you have shared the password will be able to open and view the file.

Secondly, you can set a limit on copying and printing of the PDF document.

File Security and Protection

Setting a password on a PDF document is a delicate task. Of course, you want to know for sure that your files are not in danger.

PDF2Go guarantees the security of all uploaded, edited and converted files. See Privacy Policy for details.

What files can be protected

You can only add a password to Adobe PDF documents. However, the number of pages in a PDF file, as well as the presence of text, images, tables and other objects, does not matter. We are capable of any task.

You can upload other files, text or graphics. We'll automatically convert them to PDF and add passwords for protection.

Complete PDF security

Convenient online studio PDF2Go allows you to protect PDF files with a password absolutely free of charge. But that's not all!

You are not tied to your home computer. You can add a password to a PDF file from any available device. This is possible with us.

Remove protection from a PDF file

The software is capable of unlocking a pdf document, removing the restrictions associated with the file in the Mac operating system. The software can easily remove PDF restrictions such as printing, copying, editing or any other type of protection. Moreover, the user can also get rid of restrictions such as signing, commenting, assembling documents using the tool. Permissions to fill out forms are also enabled by the software.

Batch unlock PDF files

This PDF file unlocker provides two different options to add multiple PDF documents, i.e. “Add File(s)/Folder(s)”. The user can insert a locked PDF file using any of the options as per the selection. The software will remove the password from the PDF file and enable permissions such as editing, extracting pages, batch printing on Mac OS. The user can also remove the unwanted PDF file from the list using the Remove option.

Remove password protection in PDF

The utility can easily remove owner-level protection from various PDF files in just a few clicks. Moreover, this tool also allows you to remove known user level password from multiple PDF documents. Both Tyro users and technocrats can work with the tool thanks to its user-friendly interface.

Kompatibel mit Mac OS X-Versionen

The software is designed with powerful algorithms with the integration of amazing features. This PDF unlocker is compatible with macOS (10.13) High Sierra and all versions below such as macOS Sierra (10.12), OS X El Capitan (10.11), Mac OS X 10.10 (Yosemite), etc.

Generate a report with details of the unlocking process

Once the PDF file unlocking process is complete, the program generates a report. This report contains unlocked PDF files and an export report (CSV). The CSV file contains information such as destination path, selected path, total count, unlock status, error counter, success counter. The user can also save this report for future use.

Remove various restrictions on PDF

With PDF Unlocker, the user can easily remove various types of security restrictions from PDF files. Types of restrictions include copying content, assembling documents, printing, commenting, filling out form fields, creating template pages, signing, copying content for accessibility. All such restrictions of PDF files can be removed using this tool.

PDF is a popular document format that is often used to store scans of document pages and entire books, as well as to transfer text documents to other computers without the possibility of formatting being lost. However, if the PDF document has protection, you may need to remove it.
For PDF documents, it is possible to set different types of protection, among which a password can be set to open the document, a ban on printing or editing, etc. can be set. And, naturally, there may be a completely understandable desire to remove protection from a document in order to gain full access to it.

Removing protection from a PDF document

You can remove the protection both on the Internet and using a computer program.

If you don’t have PDF programs on your computer, you won’t need to install them, since you can use an online service to remove protection from a document. It should be noted that the Smallpdf online service is paid, but the first two attempts to remove protection from a document will be available to you absolutely free.

1. To use this method of removing protection, go to the service page, and then drag the PDF file into the specified window or click on the button "Choose File" to open Windows Explorer.

2. The file will begin downloading, the duration of which will depend on the size of your PDF document, as well as the speed of your Internet connection. Once the download is complete, your file will be displayed on the screen. Next you need to check the box next to “I declare that I have the right to edit this file and remove protection from it.”, and then click the button "Unprotect PDF".

3. In the next moment, the protection from the file will be removed. All you have to do is download the finished copy of the file by clicking on the button "Download file".

Method 2: Using the Free My PDF online service

Another online service for removing protection from PDF. The main advantage over the first service is completely free access.
1. To use it, go to the service page and click on the button "Choose File". Windows Explorer will appear on the screen, in which you will need to select the PDF file.

2. Click the button "Do It". After this, the unlocked copy will be automatically downloaded to your computer.

Method 3: Using PDF Password Removal Tool

If you need to remove protection from PDF files on an ongoing basis, then it would be best to use a computer program rather than online services. Moreover, the tool we are considering is available for use absolutely free.

1. Download the PDF Password Removal Tool utility from the link at the end of the article from the official website of the developer, and then install it on your computer.

2. Launch the program. To get started you will need about "Open file" Click on the ellipses icon. Windows Explorer will be displayed on the screen, in which you will need to specify the PDF document with which further work will be carried out.

3. In the block "Save PDF File" If necessary, you will need to change the folder for the saved copy of the file and its name. To start the file unlocking process, click on the button "Convert".

4. Conversion occurs instantly and, if you have not unchecked the “View PDF after exporting” checkbox, the file will automatically open on your computer in the default program.

There are many other tools that allow you to remove protection from PDF. If you use other programs or online services, tell us about them in the comments.