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How to Encrypt PDF Online

Audrey Goodwin

2024-04-18 11:58:33 • Filed to: Protect PDF Online • Proven solutions

While a vast range of people is conversant with how to encrypt PDF offline, plenty of them still don’t give much trust to online PDF encryption tools. The online space gives more flexibility because you can access it without the limitation of time and space. There are scores of people out there looking for the best way to encrypt PDF online. If you are one of them, then this article is here for you. In this article, we are going to take you through a detailed guide on how to encrypt PDF online for free.

How to Encrypt PDFOnline

hiPDF is an excellent online PDF tool that makes it easy to work with PDF files. This program is equipped with plenty of amazing features that make it the ultimate online PDF tool. It supports both basic PDF functionality as well as advanced functions. You can create and convert PDF, edit, merge, protect, unlock texts from scanned PDFs or images with the help of the OCR feature, and sign documents among others. The program has a simple and elegant interface and thus newbies will find it seamless to navigate.

Step 1. Go to hiPDF encrypt PDF page then hit the “CHOOSE FILE” button. The program will automatically direct you to the file explorer window to browse for the PDF file that you want to encrypt. When you find this file, select it and click the “Open” button to import it into hiPDF interface.

Step 2. When the PDF file is uploaded, you should see a “Password” field just under the “Enter a password to protect your document” instruction. Enter your desired password in this field.

Step 3. Now that you have entered the desired password, hit the “Encrypt” button to trigger the program to insert the password to your PDF file.

Step 4. When the PDF file is finally encrypted, the “Download” button should appear. Hit this button to download the encrypted PDF file into your device.

How to Encrypt a PDF Desktop

Wondershare PDFelement - PDF Editor is undoubtedly the best all-in-one PDF software that has garnered a large number of devotees across the globe. This program houses every single feature you would demand from an up to scratch PDF tinker tool. Ranging from speed, ease of use, a plethora of excellent features, compatibility, and affordability, PDFelement the real deal. Users can create and convert, edit, annotate, protect, print, perform OCR, organize, share, and sign PDFs just to mention but a few.

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How to Encrypt PDF on Desktop

Step 1. Open PDF File

Launch PDFelement on your computer to open the primary interface. Here, there are several icons. Ignore other options and click the “Open file” icon. This should take you to the file explorer window. Browse for the PDF file that you want to upload then click “Open” to open it in PDFelement

Step 2. Encrypt PDF

Now that the PDF has been uploaded, you need to encrypt it. Simply head to the toolbar and hit the “Protect” tab. You should see a couple of “Protect” sub-menu displayed just below the toolbar. Select the “Set Password” option on the far left and the program will pop up in the “Security” window. In the security window, you can encrypt your document with an open document password or the permission password. To encrypt with an open document password, enable the “Open Password” checkbox and enter the desired password in the respective password field. For permission password, tick the “Permission Password” checkbox then enter the desired password in the permission password field. Also, select the desired print and change options. Once satisfied with the selections you have made, simply hit the “Save” button to allow the program to encrypt your PDF file.

Step 3. Save PDF with Password

When the program has encrypted your PDF file, go to the “File” menu, and select the “Save” option to save the changes you have made to your PDF including encryption.

Other Tool to Encrypt PDF Online

1. Smallpdf

Smallpdf is one of the most popular names as far as online PDF tools come into play. This program supports a wide range of formats and is equipped with several good PDF features. This program also allows users to encrypt their documents with passwords to prevent unauthorized access. The files and passwords are transferred using secure SSL connections. Passwords are deleted instantly after processing while files are deleted after an hour.

How to encrypt PDF

Step 1. Visit SmallPDF Protect page then click the “CHOOSE FILE” button on the interface. Browse and upload the PDF file that you want to upload.

Step 2. Once uploaded, enter the desired password in the password field then hit “Encrypt PDF”.

Step 3. When the encryption is complete, hit the “Download” button to fetch it to your device.

2. pdf2go

PDF2Go is a good PDF solution tool that also allows users to encrypt their PDF files. This program has a straightforward interface and users will find it easy to navigate. You can source PDF files through url links, from the local computer, dropbox, or Google Drive. Here, you can set the open password or permission password or both as per your need.

How to encrypt PDF

Step 1. Visit pdf2go protect page using your browser. Click the “Choose File” button and upload the PDF file that you want to encrypt.

Step 2. Once uploaded, go to the “Set Password to open the document” section then enter the desired password and repeat it in the respective fields. You can also add a permission password under the “Set password to restrict permissions” section. Here, you select the desired permissions like printing, copying, and modifying, then enter the encryption password of your choice.

Step 3. When you are satisfied with the selections you have made, simply click the “Start” button to allow the program to add the password.

3. iLovePDF

iLovePDF has been around for a while and scores of people have leveraged this good online PDF tool. This program supports several popular formats including PDFs and can be used to perform a variety of PDF tasks such as convert, merge, and encrypt PDF. Users can upload PDF files to this online platform from a local computer, Google Drive, or DropBox.

How to Encrypt PDF

Step 1. Using your browser, go to iLovePDF protect PDF file page and click the “Select PDF file” button. Follow the on-screen instructions and upload the target PDF.

Step 2. Once uploaded, go to the right pane of the window and enter the desired encryption password. Repeat this password in the respective field and click the “Protect PDF” button.