Password protect PDF files before you send them
Payslips, medical letters and contracts often travel by email, and anyone who gets the file can open it. Ask your todo.is agent to encrypt the PDF with a password. You can also allow reading but block printing, copying or editing, and the agent checks that the lock works before you send it.
The prompt
- Password protect the attached PDF: [ATTACH THE PDF]. Use AES-256 encryption with this password to open it: [PASSWORD]. Permissions: [PERMISSIONS]. Keep the content and quality exactly the same. Test that the file asks for the password and that the permissions work, then send me the protected copy named [FILE NAME].pdf. Do not include the password in the file name or in any email you send with the file.
What to change
- [ATTACH THE PDF]: Attach the PDF (up to 50 MB). Several files can share one password or get separate ones.
- [PASSWORD]: Your password, or "create a strong 14-character password and tell me it here". Use at least 12 characters.
- [PERMISSIONS]: E.g. "anyone with the password can do everything", "allow printing but block copying and editing" or "view only".
- [FILE NAME]: E.g. "Payslip_September_protected".
Example result
- Protection report: Payslip_September.pdf
- 3 pages · AES-256 encryption · 412 KB
- Settings
- • Open password: set (the one you gave, not stored in the file name or metadata)
- • Encryption: AES-256, supported by Adobe Reader, Chrome, Edge, Preview and phone PDF apps
- • Permissions: printing allowed · copying text blocked · editing blocked · filling forms blocked
- Test results
- • Opening without a password: blocked, viewer asks for the password
- • Opening with the password: all 3 pages display normally
- • Trying to copy text in Adobe Reader: blocked
- • Printing: works
- How to share it safely
- • Send the PDF by email, and the password by another channel, like a text message or a call
- • Don't put the password in the email subject or body next to the file
- • Use a different password for each recipient if the files are personal
- Open password vs. permissions password
- • Open password (user password): needed to see anything at all. This is the real protection
- • Permissions (owner password): limits printing, copying and editing for people who can open the file. Respectful viewers follow these, but some tools ignore them, so treat permissions as a deterrent, not a vault
- Good passwords for PDFs
- • At least 12 characters, mixing words and numbers, e.g. a short phrase like "maple-river-73-coat"
- • Never the person's birth date or ID number, which is common on payslips and easy to guess
- Keep a record
- • Save the password in your password manager. If it is lost, the file cannot be opened, by you or anyone else
How to do it with todo.is
- Copy the prompt and choose a password and permissions.
- Attach the PDF on the Today screen in todo.is, or send it to your agent on Telegram or WhatsApp with the prompt.
- Your agent encrypts the file and tests the password and permissions.
- Download the protected PDF. To lock a whole folder of files, attach them all in one message.
Tips for a better result
- Send the password separately from the file. If both are in one email, the lock does little.
- AES-256 is the strongest standard PDF encryption and opens in all modern readers. Avoid old 40-bit RC4 settings.
- Permissions like "no copying" are respected by most viewers but are not real security. The open password is what protects the content.
- For many recipients, ask your agent to create one file per person with its own password and a list to send them.
password protect PDF: FAQ
- How do I put a password on a PDF? Attach the PDF, give a password and say who may print or edit. Your agent encrypts it with AES-256 and sends you the locked copy.
- Can I stop people from printing or copying my PDF? Yes, with permission settings. Most viewers follow them, but they are a deterrent rather than full protection.
- What if I forget the PDF password? Strong encryption means the file cannot be opened without it. Keep the password in a password manager and keep an unprotected copy somewhere safe.
- Can todo.is remove a password from a PDF? Only for your own files when you give the current password. It will not try to crack or remove passwords from files you don't own.
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