Unlock a PDF and remove its password
Remove the open password and the print, copy and edit restrictions from a PDF whose password you know.
- Nothing is uploaded
- Works offline after first use
- Open source
- No watermark · limit is your device’s memory; phones hold less
Removes the open password and the print, copy and edit restrictions from a PDF and saves a copy that opens freely; if the PDF asks for a password to open, you need to know it, because this cannot crack passwords. It is free, and your PDF and its password are not uploaded: the PDF is unlocked in your browser. The size limit is your device’s memory (phones hold less), and after your first run on a protected PDF the page works offline.
Done
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Open the network tab. Your files never appear in it.
Add files and run the tool to see every request this tab makes.
Your files are processed on this device and never sent to a server. Reload the page to clear everything from memory.
How it works
- Drop one or more PDFs.
- Type the password that opens them. PDFs that only restrict printing or copying need no password.
- Save copies that open without a password and have no restrictions.
In your browser, not on a server
qpdf, the open-source PDF transformation tool, compiled to WebAssembly, is served by this site and loaded into the tab the first time a protected PDF is dropped. It checks your password and rewrites each PDF without its encryption, copying every page, font and image as they are. The password is used in memory and dropped when you close the tab.
Compared with upload-based tools: Online unlockers ask for the file and its password together, which is everything someone would need to read it. Here neither leaves your device.
Verify it yourself. Give the page a short while after your first run to save itself for offline use, then turn off Wi-Fi or switch to airplane mode and run the tool again. Or open your browser's developer tools (F12, or Cmd-Option-I on a Mac), pick the Network tab, and watch it while you convert. The panel above does the same count for you.
Questions
How do I remove a password from a PDF?
Drop the PDF here, type the password that opens it and press Remove password. The copy that downloads opens without a password and has no print, copy or edit restrictions. A PDF that opens without a password but blocks printing or copying needs no password here at all.
Can this open a PDF when I don’t know the password?
No. It removes a password you already have, so you don’t have to type it every time or so other apps can edit the file. It does not guess or crack passwords.
What about PDFs that open fine but won’t let me print or copy?
Those carry an owner password that only sets restrictions. Drop them in without a password and the restrictions are removed; the text, images and pages are left exactly as they were.
Is my PDF or password sent anywhere?
No. The PDF is decrypted inside your browser tab by qpdf compiled to WebAssembly. The password is used in the tab and never leaves it. The unlocking program is downloaded from this site the first time you unlock a protected PDF; after that first run the page works with the network off.
More PDF tools
Protect PDF
Lock a PDF with a password and AES-256 encryption, without uploading the file you are trying to keep private.
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PDF to Image
Export every page, or just some, as JPG or PNG at the resolution you need. Rendered on your device.
Reorder & Delete Pages
See every page as a thumbnail, drag them into the order you want, remove the extras. Saved on your device.
Popular conversions
Guides
- How to remove a password from a PDFIf you can already open it, removing the password is usually a save or print trick built into your computer. Here is how.
- Is PDF24 safe?PDF24 is a long-standing German project, and it tells you itself that its offline app is the more private option. Here is how to choose between the two, and a third way.
- A free Smallpdf alternative with no daily limitSmallpdf's free plan has daily limits. Here is what that means, and a way around it where your files are never uploaded.
- A free iLovePDF alternative with no task limits or adsiLovePDF's free plan works, but with limits on documents, batches and file size. Here is what changes with a tool that never uploads the file at all.
- A PDF24 alternative that works in your browser without uploadingPDF24 itself points to its desktop app for keeping files on your PC, but that app is Windows only. Here is an alternative that skips the upload, in any modern browser.