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Unlock PDF

Remove the password from a PDF you know the password to, so it opens without one. Works on your device, and neither the PDF nor the password is uploaded.

  • Runs in your browser
  • Nothing is uploaded
  • Free, no sign-up

or drop it here. Up to 100 MB. Nothing is uploaded.

How it works

Choose a password-protected PDF and type its password. Your browser checks it against the PDF's own encryption settings, decrypts every page, image, font and the document's title, and saves a copy without the password. Text, links, bookmarks, forms and attachments stay as they were.

What the copy keeps depends on the password. The permissions password, or a PDF that restricts nothing, gives a copy with no encryption at all. The password that only opens the PDF gives a copy that opens without one but still blocks what its author blocked, such as printing or copying: kitkeeps doesn't remove restrictions set by a PDF's author without their permissions password, and it never guesses passwords.

Before the download is offered, the copy is opened again with a second PDF reader to check that it needs no password and has every page. To lock it again with a password of your own, use Protect PDF.

Questions

How do I remove a password from a PDF?

Choose the PDF, type its password and press Unlock PDF, then download the copy. It opens without asking for a password from then on. There is no account, and neither the PDF nor the password is uploaded.

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

No. This tool removes a password you know; it doesn't guess or crack passwords. If you have forgotten it, ask whoever sent you the PDF for the password or for an unlocked copy.

Why does my unlocked PDF still block printing or copying?

A PDF can have two passwords: one to open it, and a permissions password its author uses to block printing, copying or editing. With only the first, the copy opens without a password but keeps the author's restrictions. Type the permissions password instead to remove those too.

Is it safe to unlock a PDF here?

Yes. Your browser decrypts the PDF on your device: it is never uploaded, and the password is checked against the PDF itself, never sent, stored or put in the address bar. Remember that the unlocked copy opens for anyone who gets it, so keep it somewhere private.

Limits

Opens one PDF of up to 100 MB at a time. Works with password-protected PDFs of every kind PDF readers use, from old 40-bit RC4 to AES-256. PDFs locked with a certificate or by a company's document rights system can't be unlocked here.

A PDF that opens without a password but blocks printing or copying is unlocked only with its permissions password. A digital signature in the PDF shows as no longer valid in the unlocked copy.

Privacy

This tool runs entirely in your browser. The files you open and what you type are never sent to a server, and nothing is stored after you close the page. See the privacy page.

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