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Tool 6.6

Remove a PDF password you know: unlock PDF free

Get a copy of a protected PDF that opens without a password, or without print and copy limits, using the password you know. Processed on our server.

Uses our serverWhen you press the button, the PDF and the password you typed travel together over HTTPS to our server (api.ethorns.com), passing through Cloudflare, our network provider. The password is used only to open the file, in memory inside a sealed container with no internet access, and it's never stored or logged. The file is deleted as soon as the unlocked copy is sent back; we keep no copy, and the file name is never sent. The tool can't recover or guess a password you've forgotten.

How to use it

  1. Drop the PDF, or click to choose it. Nothing is uploaded yet.
  2. Type its password: the one you use to open it or, if it opens but won't print or copy, its permissions password.
  3. Press Remove password. The file and the password go to our server, and the copy without protection downloads by itself.

When the password gets in the way

Banks, payroll systems and phone companies often send statements and certificates as password-protected PDFs, many times with your ID number as the password. That makes sense for the email, but afterwards you have to type it every time you open the file, many portals and print shops refuse a protected PDF, and tools that merge or sign PDFs can't read it.

Other PDFs open without a password but won't let you print, copy text or fill in a form, because whoever made them set a second password, called the permissions or owner password. This tool uses PyMuPDF on our server to open the file with the password you type and save a copy with no encryption, which opens, prints and copies normally.

Example: bank statements for a rental application

You have to send your last three bank statements to a real estate agency. The bank emails them as extracto-marzo.pdf, protected with your ID number, and the agency's portal rejects protected files. Drop the file, type the password and press Remove password. extracto-marzo-unlocked.pdf downloads: it opens without asking for anything, and the portal takes it.

If you mistype the password, nothing downloads and the tool says the password doesn't open the PDF, so you can try again. If a file already opened, printed and copied freely, the tool tells you there was nothing to remove.

What it can't do, and what to keep in mind

It only removes protection with a password you type. It can't recover, guess or break a password you've forgotten, and nobody at eThorns can do it for you: ask whoever sent the file for a new copy. If a PDF opens without a password but won't print or copy, you need its permissions password; there's no way around that here.

The password travels with the file over HTTPS, is used only to open it, and is never stored or logged. The copy you get has no protection at all, so anyone who gets it can open it: keep it with your other private papers and delete it when you're done. Removing the encryption also breaks any digital signature in the PDF, so send the signed original when the signature matters.

FAQ

Is it safe to send my password?

The password and the file travel together over HTTPS, the same encryption your bank's website uses. On our server the password is used only to open the file, in memory, inside a sealed container with no internet access. It never goes in the web address, and it's never saved or written to any log: the log only records which tool ran, whether it worked and how long it took.

I forgot the password. Can you remove it?

No. This tool only works with a password you know: it doesn't try passwords or break the protection, and we can't recover one. Ask the bank or whoever sent the file. They can usually send it again or tell you which password they used, often your ID number or part of it.

What's the difference between the open password and the permissions password?

The open password, also called user password, is the one a PDF asks for as soon as you open it. If your file has one, typing it is enough, and the copy has no limits either. The permissions password, or owner password, is for files that open freely but won't let you print, copy or edit: for those, only the permissions password works.

Does it change what's in the PDF?

No. The pages, text, images, links and form fields stay the same; only the encryption goes. The copy can come out a little heavier or lighter, because the file is saved again.

Is there a size limit?

50 MB per file, and a few files per minute per person. Our server works on one or two files at a time, so at busy moments it may ask you to try again in a minute.

  • 6.1Compress PDFMake a heavy PDF lighter so a job, university or bank portal accepts it.
  • 6.2Word, Excel, PowerPoint to PDFTurn a Word, Excel or PowerPoint file into a PDF without installing anything: .docx, .xlsx, .pptx, .doc, .xls, .ppt, .odt or .rtf.
  • 6.3PDF to WordTurn a PDF into a Word document you can edit: paragraphs, tables and images come back as a .docx.
  • 6.4Scanned PDF to text (OCR)Make a scanned PDF searchable, or get its text as a .txt file.
  • 6.5PDF to SVGTurn each page of a PDF into an SVG for Illustrator, Inkscape, Figma or a browser, sharp at any size.
  • 6.7Merge PDFCombine several PDFs into one in your browser.
  • 6.8Split PDFExtract pages from a PDF, split it into one file per page, or remove the pages you don't need.
  • 6.9Rotate PDFTurn every page of a PDF, or only the ones you choose, 90° either way or 180°, and save the file that way.
  • 6.10Delete PDF PagesType the pages to delete, like 2, 4-6, and download a copy of the PDF without them, the rest in their original order.
  • 6.11PDF Page NumbersStamp page numbers on a PDF as 1, 1 / 12 or Page 1 of 12, in one of six positions, from any start number, skipping the cover if you want.
  • 6.12Watermark PDFStamp a word like DRAFT or CONFIDENTIAL across the pages of a PDF, diagonal or horizontal, with the opacity and size you choose.
  • 6.13JPG to PDFTurn JPG, PNG and WebP images into one PDF in your browser.
  • 6.14PDF to JPGConvert each page of a PDF into a JPG or PNG image in your browser.
  • 6.15PDF to PNGConvert PDF pages to PNG images in your browser: lossless, with crisp text and lines.
  • 6.16Sign PDFDraw your signature or upload a photo of it, place it on any page of a PDF and download the signed file.

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