Unlock a PDF

Worth knowing

• You need the password. This is not a password cracker and will not recover, guess or bypass an unknown password. If you cannot open the document now, this cannot open it either.
• The file never leaves your computer. Every one of these tools runs inside your browser. Nothing is uploaded, so there is no copy on a server, nothing to delete afterwards and no queue of other people’s documents next to yours.
• Why bother removing it. An encrypted file cannot be merged, split, compressed or converted by anything until the encryption is off. Unlocking is usually the first step before doing anything else with it.
• Damaged files are handled separately. If a PDF will not open because it is corrupt rather than locked, Repair rebuilds its index from the objects inside it.

When to use it

• A bank statement asks for a password every time and you want to file it without one.
• You need to merge, split or convert a protected PDF, which first requires removing the encryption.
• Archiving documents so that they stay readable years later, when the password may be forgotten.

Questions

Can it unlock a PDF if I don't know the password?

No. It removes a password you already know; it does not guess, crack or bypass one.

Why can't other tools open my protected PDF?

Encrypted files cannot be merged, split or converted until the encryption is removed. Unlocking is usually the first step.

Is the password sent anywhere?

No. Both the file and the password stay in your browser.