Information for your accountant
Bank statements, tax certificates, invoices and returns often travel by email. A password keeps someone else from reading them if the message is forwarded by mistake.
PDF tool
Protect PDF
Protect your PDF documents with a password, quickly, easily and securely.
Select your PDF file
Upload a document of up to 100 MB and set a password to protect it.
Your files are processed temporarily and deleted automatically.
01
Select
Choose the PDF file you want to protect.
02
Protect
Set a password to protect access to your document.
03
Download
Get your new protected PDF when the process finishes.
Add a password to your PDF before sending it
An email can be forwarded, a chat can be left open on another computer, and an attachment can end up in the wrong hands. If the document contains private information, a password ensures only people who know it can read it.
SoloHazlo creates a copy of your PDF encrypted with 256 bits. When it's opened, any PDF reader will ask for the password you choose. Optionally, you can also restrict printing, text copying, editing and comments.
Documents worth protecting
Health records
Lab results, prescriptions or medical histories you share with a specialist or an insurer are especially sensitive information.
Payroll and employee data
If you send payslips or lists with personal data, protecting them with a different password for each person adds a layer of privacy.
Contracts and proposals
Quotes, contracts and business proposals that shouldn't circulate freely can be sent protected, with copying or editing restricted.
How to protect a PDF with SoloHazlo
Select your PDF
Choose the document (up to 100 MB). Once it loads, the password fields will appear.
Enter and confirm the password
It must be at least 6 characters long. It's what the PDF will ask for when opened and what you'll give to whoever receives the document.
Choose permissions (optional)
If you tick any restriction, you'll be asked for a second password, the owner password, used to manage those permissions. It must be different and only you should know it.
Download and test it
Open the downloaded file and confirm it asks for the password before sending it to anyone.
Open password and owner password
The open password is the key to the document: without it, its content can't be seen. It's the one you share with whoever needs to read it.
The owner password only appears if you choose restrictions. Anyone who opens the PDF with the open password can read it, but with the limits you ticked; anyone who opens it with the owner password has full access and can remove those limits. That's why they should be different and you shouldn't share the owner password.
Tips to make the protection really count
Send the password another way. If you send the PDF by email, share the password by WhatsApp, text message or a phone call. If both go in the same email, whoever intercepts it gets everything.
Use a phrase, not a word. A password like "Table-Blue-Rain-27" is easier to remember and much harder to guess than "john1985". Avoid names, birth dates and phone numbers.
Protect last. If you also need to redact data, merge documents or reduce the size, do it first. A password-protected PDF can't be processed by other tools until it's unlocked.
Save the password. Store it in a password manager or somewhere safe. If you forget it, there's no way to recover it.
What permissions can and can't do
Printing, copying, editing and annotation restrictions are part of the PDF standard, and the most widely used readers, such as Adobe Acrobat and web browsers, respect them. They're useful for clearly stating the permitted use and preventing accidental changes.
However, they don't stop someone from taking a screenshot or photographing the document, and some programs may ignore them. If the information is truly confidential, what protects it is the open password, not the permissions.
Common problems and how to fix them
The "Protect PDF" button stays disabled
Check that the password is at least 6 characters long and that the confirmation is identical. If you ticked any permission, you must also fill in and confirm the owner password.
The person who received the PDF says the password doesn't work
Passwords are case-sensitive. Ask them to check Caps Lock and make sure they didn't copy a space at the start or end.
I can't compress or merge the protected PDF
That's expected: the protection stops other tools from reading the file. Do those steps with the original document and protect it last.
What happens to your documents and passwords
To protect your PDF, the file and password are sent to our server, the encrypted copy is generated, and it's made available for you to download through a private link. Files are deleted automatically shortly after processing, and we don't store your passwords.
Your original PDF isn't changed or protected: keep it somewhere safe.
Frequently asked questions about protecting PDFs
What kind of encryption is used?
The document is encrypted with 256 bits, the highest level the PDF standard supports. Any modern reader can open it with the right password.
Can it be opened on a phone?
Yes. When you open the PDF on Android or iPhone, the reader will ask for the password just like on a computer.
What if I forget the password?
It can't be recovered: SoloHazlo doesn't store passwords. That's why you should always keep the original, unprotected PDF somewhere safe.
What's the maximum size?
You can protect files of up to 100 MB.
Does it cost anything, or do I need to sign up?
No. Protect PDF is free and doesn't require an account. The site is supported by ads.