# Unlock a PDF — Remove Passwords and Restrictions

> Decrypt a PDF you have the password for, or strip owner restrictions that need no password at all.

There are two different things people mean by a locked PDF. One only carries restrictions — it opens without being asked for anything, but printing or copying is switched off. Those are an instruction to the reader, not encryption, and removing them needs no password. The other is genuinely encrypted and cannot be opened without the password. Give the password and this decrypts it properly and losslessly in your browser. It will not guess a password you do not have, and does not pretend to.

**URL:** https://convertto.tech/t/unlock-pdf
**Category:** PDF Tools (https://convertto.tech/c/pdf-tools)
**Privacy:** Runs entirely in the browser; no upload
**Cost:** Free, no sign-up
**Last updated:** 2026-08-01

## Key facts

- **Supports:** RC4-40, RC4-128 and AES-128 with the password; owner restrictions without one
- **Quality:** Lossless — the document is decrypted, not re-rendered
- **Privacy:** Runs entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded
- **Cost:** Free, unlimited, no sign-up

## How to use

1. Select your protected pdf — the file stays on your device and is never uploaded.
2. Enter or paste your password.
3. Press Run, then download the result when it is ready.

## FAQ

### I do not know the password. Can you crack it?

No. This decrypts a document you can already open, and removes restrictions from one that was never encrypted. Breaking a user password means trying every possibility, which is neither something a browser tab can do nor something this tool will attempt.

### Why did it work without a password?

Because the file was never encrypted for reading. It carried owner restrictions — a flag asking readers to disallow printing or copying — and the content was in the clear the whole time. Removing that flag is legitimate and requires nothing.

### Does unlocking reduce quality?

No. The document is decrypted object by object and re-saved, so text stays selectable, images keep their original data and the file is byte-for-byte the document that was encrypted. Tools that re-render each page to strip protection lose all of that.

### AES-256 files fail. Why?

Revision 6 encryption uses a different key derivation that is not implemented here. Open the file in a desktop reader with the password and save a copy without protection.

## Related tools

- [Protect PDF with Password](https://convertto.tech/t/protect-pdf): Encrypt a PDF with a password using AES-128, and choose what readers are allowed to do.
- [Crop PDF](https://convertto.tech/t/crop-pdf): Trim the margins of every page, or just the pages you choose, without re-rendering.
- [Duplicate PDF Pages](https://convertto.tech/t/duplicate-pdf-pages): Repeat chosen pages any number of times — for labels, tickets, forms or handouts.
- [Edit PDF](https://convertto.tech/t/edit-pdf): Add text, pictures, shapes, arrows, highlights and freehand drawing to any PDF page.
- [Excel to PDF](https://convertto.tech/t/excel-to-pdf): Convert an Excel workbook to a PDF table, one section per sheet, in your browser.
- [Extract PDF Pages](https://convertto.tech/t/extract-pdf-pages): Pull specific pages out of a PDF into a new document, in one file or one file per page.
- [Fill PDF Forms](https://convertto.tech/t/fill-pdf): Read a PDF's interactive form fields, fill them in, and optionally lock the answers.
- [HTML to PDF](https://convertto.tech/t/html-to-pdf): Convert HTML markup into a clean, text-based PDF document in your browser.