How to remove password protection from a PDF

Removing password protection from a PDF document can be done if you have the necessary permissions to unlock the PDF. However, it’s important to note that removing password protection from a PDF without permission may violate copyright and privacy laws. Only proceed with these steps if you have legitimate access rights to the document. Here’s how to remove password protection from a PDF:

Method 1: Using Adobe Acrobat (Paid Software)

If you have access to Adobe Acrobat, you can use it to remove password protection from a PDF:

  1. Open Adobe Acrobat.
  2. Open the password-protected PDF file by clicking “File” > “Open.”
  3. When prompted, enter the password required to open the PDF.
  4. Once the PDF is open, go to “File” > “Properties.”
  5. In the Properties dialog box, click the “Security” tab.
  6. Under the “Security Method” dropdown menu, select “No Security.”
  7. Click the “OK” button to confirm.
  8. Save the PDF file by clicking “File” > “Save” or “Save As.”

Method 2: Using Google Chrome

You can use Google Chrome to remove password protection from a PDF if the document is not heavily encrypted:

  1. Open Google Chrome.
  2. Drag and drop the password-protected PDF file into a new Chrome tab or open it using the “Open” option in the browser.
  3. When prompted, enter the password to open the PDF.
  4. Once the PDF is open, go to “File” > “Print” or press “Ctrl + P” (Windows) or “Command + P” (macOS).
  5. In the print dialog box, select the “Save as PDF” option from the list of printers.
  6. Click the “Save” button. Chrome will save a new copy of the PDF without password protection.

Method 3: Using Online PDF Unlocking Tools

There are online tools available that can help remove password protection from PDFs. These tools are suitable for situations where you don’t have access to Adobe Acrobat or Google Chrome:

  1. Visit an online PDF unlocking tool, such as Smallpdf (https://www.smallpdf.com/unlock-pdf) or ILovePDF (https://www.ilovepdf.com/unlock_pdf).
  2. Upload the password-protected PDF file to the online tool.
  3. Follow the instructions provided by the tool to remove the password protection.
  4. After the tool has removed the password, you can download the unprotected PDF.

Please be aware that removing password protection from a PDF without authorization may violate copyright or privacy laws. Ensure that you have the right to access the content without a password before attempting to remove password protection.