How to Remove Password Protection From a PDF

PDF files are useful documents for many reasons such as the fact that they look the same no matter what device you use them on. They're also very easy to add passwords to making it much harder for unauthorized people to access the contents. What do you do if you want to remove password protection from PDF though and open up the file to everyone again? It can be tricky to know where to begin when you want to remove the security from a PDF file. 

Here's a look at the simplest ways to remove password protection from a PDF file. 

How to Remove Password Protection From a PDF When You Know the Password

For legal reasons, you should only ever remove password protection from a PDF that you possess and already know the password for. Passwords are typically added to prevent plagiarism or to encrypt the information so that it's safer to transmit online. That's particularly useful for contracts or competitor information within a company. If you want to unprotect the PDF so others can see it without needing the password, it only takes a few steps. Here's how to do it.

1. Open Google Chrome.

   

2. Click File > Open File.

   

3. Find your passworded PDF document and click Open.

   

4. Enter the password of the document.

5. Click Submit.

   

6. Click Print.

   

7. Click on the Destination drop-down menu.

   

8. Click Save as PDF.

   

9. Click Save.

   

10. Enter a name for the new document and click Save.

    The PDF is now saved to the new location with no password protection.

How to Remove a PDF Password Protection Using Adobe Acrobat DC

While Adobe Acrobat Reader is a free PDF viewer for all, Adobe Acrobat DC is a paid app that offers enhanced features for users that regularly need to manipulate PDFs. It's also considered the more appropriate way of removing the security on a PDF. Here's how to remove password protection using Adobe Acrobat DC, providing you know the password. 

1. Open Adobe Acrobat DC.

2. Click Open File.

   

3. Find the file you wish to remove the password from and click Open.

   

4. Enter the password and click OK.

   

5. Click File > Properties.

   

6. Click Security.

   

7. Click the Security Method drop-down menu.

   

8. Click No Security.

   

9. Click OK.

   

10. Click OK one last time.

11. The password has now been removed from the file and you can click File > Save to save it or do anything you want with it.

What Do I Do If I've Forgotten the PDF Password?

If you've forgotten the password to one of your PDFs, it can be trickier to remove the password protection. There are numerous free PDF password remover tools that you can try. There's no guarantee they'll work as it depends on the security level of the PDF and other restrictions, but it's definitely worth trying.