In this digital era, sharing and saving confidential information in PDF format is a common thing. However, if PDFs are not secured properly, anyone can view, modify, and share freely. Adding a password is one of the easiest and most efficient methods to protect your documents. In this post, we shall provide you with some free ways on how to password protect PDF for free online and advanced alternative solutions. So, let’s dive into it.
Why Secure PDFs With a Password?
Today, intruders are becoming thirsty for data, especially confidential documents. Sharing or keeping the PDFs for passwordless unlocking the highly possible to cause data loss. Hence, many of you need to understand the importance of data security and prevention. Now, learn the benefits of securing PDF files with password security:
- Prevent Unauthorized Access: If you don’t secure PDFs, then anyone who gets their paws on the PDF—whether through forwarded email, cloud share, or stolen device—can open and read its contents. This is even more dangerous if the file you’re sharing has private or confidential data in it. By putting a password on, you make the document only accessible to people who have the right information.
-
- Securing Business Documents: For companies, PDFs often hold keys to the kingdom – financial reports, legal contracts, product plans, or employee records. Those files, if compromised or manipulated, could potentially cause significant financial or reputational harm. Hence, users need to lock a PDF from editing and make it a read only document.
- Advanced Security Policy: Legal, finance, healthcare, government, and all kinds of other industries must follow data protection laws and regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA, etc. These rules state that if a document contains restricted or classified content, it must be handled appropriately. Password protecting PDFs is the quick and easy method for meeting those requirements.
Overall, these are common reasons for protecting the PDFs with robust security. Whether you’re a professional or business user, you must be wondering about the free ways to secure the PDFs without data loss. Now, let’s deeply understand them in the section below
#1 How to Password Protect PDF for Free – Try Smallpdf Tool
If you’re seeking how to secure PDF for free, many free online tools are available. Smallpdf, the most useful and highly reliable online platform for protecting PDFs in one go. Using this solution, you can ensure document security instantly without tampering with the data. Moreover, this tool won’t contain any limitations, especially dependency on third-party tools.
Additionally, the interface of this free service is quite clear and easy to understand by users. Now, follow the steps below to protect the PDF with a password for free:
- Firstly, visit a free platform like Smallpdf. ‘
- Choose Files to upload the original document.
- Now, enter the custom strong password > press Start.
Limitations: Smallpdf is a useful tool for locking PDFs for free. Unfortunately, this service won’t be reliable for the professionals. Moreover, there is a high chance of data tampering and leakage due to a lack of security concerns. So, we won’t suggest that you use this solution for password protecting the PDF online.
#2 How to Secure PDF for Free – Use iLovePDF Tool
If you’re wondering how to password protect PDF for free, consider iLovePDF. It is yet another popular and robust free service for protecting documents online. Unlike the other tools, this platform is a fast, reliable, and handy solution for securing highly confidential files like financial records, business contracts, and more.
Additionally, the software accepts large files. Besides this, you won’t need to use or install any third-party tools or applications like Adobe Acrobat Pro. Most importantly, you can access this web-based service anytime or anywhere. Here are the quick steps for protecting the PDF document with a password for free:
- Go to the iLovePDF platform on your system or mobile.
- Tap the Select the PDF Files feature and enter the passkey.
- After this, re-enter the same password > press Lock button.
Major Limitations of iLovePDF: To secure PDF for free, iLovePDF is among the ultimate choices. Using this platform, you can batch protect the document. However, there are disadvantages you need to know before using this method. Moreover, the possibilities of data loss and formatting are quite high. Hence, look for the offline tool for better security and eliminate the chances of data modifications.
How to Password Protect PDF for Free – Best Alternative
If looking for how to secure PDF for free, then you the wisely read the previous methods. Using the free online methods, there is a potential risk of document formatting and modifications. Here, consider the best alternative, like SysTools PDF Locker, the advanced and trusted way of protecting the PDF with a reliable password. Moreover, this robust tool is a secure and professional-grade tool for locking PDFs.
Using this pro tool, you can easily password protect the document in batch mode. Unlike the other solutions, this comes with security compliance and follows the data privacy standards like GDPR and HIPAA. Moreover, it is available for Windows machines. Now, follow the instructions below for protecting the PDFs for free using the SysTools advanced tool:
- Download the SysTools PDF securing tool.
- Use the Add Files feature to list the necessary documents.
- Now, tap Change to discover the location for the output file > Next.
- In the next interface, “Apply Open Document Password,” > enter password.
- Lastly, re-enter it > hit the Lock key to secure the PDF instantly.
Concluding Words
In the above guide, we have shared the best ways how to password protect PDF for free. By following these methods, you can secure the document instantly for free. Since these tools contain major limitations, consider SysTools recommended software to safeguard the PDF files without data loss and any restrictions.