Drag a file in, or choose one below.
Why use SnapFetch
- Encrypts your PDF with AES-256, the same standard used for sensitive documents
- Anyone opening the file will need the password you set
- No account needed, and the file is deleted from our servers after 1 hour
How it works
- 1
Choose or drag in a PDF file
- 2
Enter the password you want to set
- 3
Click Protect PDF
- 4
Download your password-protected PDF
When to use Protect PDF
Worth doing whenever a document with personal or financial detail travels by email - a contract, a statement, an ID scan. It sets an open password, so the file cannot be read at all without it. Send the password through a different channel than the file, otherwise one intercepted inbox gives up both. We never store the password.
Specifications & limits
- Protection type
- Open password - required to view the document
- Password storage
- Never stored or logged; used once during processing and discarded
- Accepted input
- PDF only (.pdf)
- Recovery
- None. If you lose the password the file cannot be opened
- Maximum file size
- 20 MB per upload
- File retention
- Deleted from our servers 1 hour after upload
Troubleshooting
You forgot the password you set
It cannot be recovered - that is the point of encryption. Re-protect the original file with a new password.
You want to stop copying rather than block opening
This tool sets an open password. For visible ownership marking, add a watermark instead.
The upload is rejected before anything happens
The file is over the 20 MB cap. Compress it first, or split a long PDF into smaller files and process them separately.
References
The published specification for the formats involved, and the open-source software that actually performs this conversion.
- pypdf documentation
The library used for PDF page operations - splitting, merging, rotation and encryption.
Frequently asked questions
There's no recovery - the whole point of encryption is that the file can't be opened without the password. Store it somewhere safe.
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