Unlock PDF files you have the password for
Typing the same password every time you open a statement or report gets old quickly, and many apps refuse to merge, split or edit protected files. This tool lets you unlock PDF documents whose password you know: enter it once and get a decrypted copy that opens directly, with no password and no restrictions.
It is not a password cracker. It does not guess, try lists of passwords or recover a forgotten one. Without the correct password the file stays encrypted, which is exactly what PDF encryption is for.
Two kinds of protected PDF
When you drop a file, the tool reads its security settings and tells you which kind it is.
- Password to open. The PDF asks for a password before it shows anything. Enter it, either the open password or the owner password, and the tool decrypts every page, image, font and form field.
- Restrictions only. The PDF opens without a password, but its author set an owner password that blocks printing, copying or editing. Such files are encrypted too, yet they can be decrypted without any password; the restrictions are flags that readers are asked to respect. The tool lists them and saves a copy without them. Only do this for documents you are allowed to print, copy or edit.
Files secured with a digital certificate (public-key security) instead of a password open only with that certificate and cannot be unlocked here.
What the unlocked copy contains
The copy keeps what the original has: text, fonts, images, links, bookmarks, form fields and document properties such as the title and author. Nothing is re-rendered, so the quality is unchanged. What goes is the encryption itself. The entries that tell a reader where the document starts lose their /Encrypt reference, and the encryption dictionary is deleted:
Before: /Root 1 0 R /Info 6 0 R /Encrypt 7 0 R /ID [<…> <…>]
7 0 obj << /Filter /Standard /V 5 /R 6 /O <…> /U <…> /P -3904 … >>
After: /Root 1 0 R /Info 6 0 R /ID [<…> <…>]All strings and streams are written out decrypted. Before you download, the tool opens the new copy with a second PDF engine, without a password, and compares the page count with the original, so you know the copy really is unlocked and complete.
Supported encryption
| Method | Where you meet it |
|---|---|
| RC4 40-bit | Very old PDFs (PDF 1.1 to 1.3) |
| RC4 128-bit | PDFs written since PDF 1.4, around 2001 |
| AES 128-bit | PDFs written since PDF 1.6, around 2004 |
| AES 256-bit | Current PDF writers and the PDF 2.0 standard |
Common problems and fixes
- “That password is not correct.” PDF passwords are case-sensitive. Check Caps Lock and your keyboard layout, and look for a space copied at the end. Statements often use a pattern such as part of a date of birth; the email or letter that came with the file usually explains it.
- “There is nothing to remove.” The file is not encrypted. If an app still refuses it, the problem lies elsewhere, for example a damaged file.
- Certificate-based security. These files need the recipient's digital certificate; ask the sender for an unprotected copy.
Once a file is unlocked you can work with it freely: combine it with others in Merge PDF, take it apart with Split PDF, or give it a new password with Protect PDF.
Privacy
Decryption happens in your browser. The PDF is not uploaded, and the password you type is used only to open the file: it is not stored, logged or sent anywhere, and the field is cleared once the file is unlocked.