Guides for unlocking and decrypting PDF files
If a PDF won't let you print, copy or edit it (or won't even open without a password you already know), here is exactly how to remove that protection for free, without installing anything or...
Can't print a PDF, or can't select and copy text out of one, even though it opens just fine? That's a permissions restriction, not a lock on the document itself, and it can be removed for free,...
Don't have Adobe Acrobat, or don't want to pay for a subscription just to remove a PDF restriction? You don't need it. Here's how to remove a PDF password or restriction for free, without...
Handing a password-protected PDF to an online tool sounds risky: you're often trusting a stranger's server with a document that was protected for a reason. Here's exactly what does and doesn't...
Forgetting the password that opens a PDF is a different, harder problem than a restricted PDF that simply blocks printing or copying: the file will not display a single page until the correct...
macOS ships with Preview, which can technically resave a PDF, but Preview's password handling has real limits that catch a lot of Mac users out. Here's what Preview can and can't do with a locked...
Locked PDFs are especially awkward on an iPhone: there's no Preview-style export dialog, and the Files app's markup tools don't touch password protection at all. Here's what actually works, and...
“PDF password” gets used as if it's one thing, but the PDF specification actually defines two completely different passwords that happen to share a file format: an owner password that controls...
“How long would it take to crack my PDF's password” doesn't have one answer: it depends heavily on which encryption the file uses and, far more, on how the password itself was chosen. Below are...