Files never leave your device.How it works
How to change PDF permissions
- 1Drop your PDF above (or click to select).
- 2Tick what to allow; unticked actions are blocked.
- 3Click Apply, then download the PDF.
Frequently asked questions
- Will people need a password to open it?
- No. The file stays freely openable — you're only setting what readers are allowed to do, enforced by a hidden random owner password.
- How strong is this?
- Permissions are honored by well-behaved PDF viewers but aren't unbreakable — determined users with the right tools can override them. For real confidentiality, add an open password with Protect.
- Can I change permissions on an encrypted file?
- Not directly — unlock it first, then set new permissions.
Set the rules, skip the password
Sometimes you want a document anyone can open but not everyone should print or copy. Change Permissions sets those allowances — printing, copying/extraction, and editing — while keeping the file password-free to open. It re-encrypts with a hidden random owner password so the flags actually bind.
What each toggle does
Leave a box ticked to allow the action, untick it to block it: printing controls whether the document can be printed, copying controls text selection and extraction, and editing controls changes and form filling. The choices apply to the whole document.
Notes and limits
Permission flags are respected by standard viewers but are not a strong security boundary — for genuine protection, use Protect to require a password to open. Already-encrypted files must be unlocked first. Everything runs locally with qpdf.
What's actually encoded in the file
PDF permissions aren't a setting a viewer reads from some config — they're bits stored in the encryption dictionary itself, alongside a hidden owner password that only the file needs to know. Change Permissions generates that owner password, sets the bits for printing, copying, and editing according to your ticks, and re-encrypts the document with a blank user password so it still opens without a prompt. Any viewer that honors PDF encryption reads those bits and greys out the disallowed actions in its interface.
Typical uses
Common cases: sending a signed contract that recipients should be able to print but not edit, distributing a price list that shouldn't be copied into a competitor's spreadsheet, or sharing a form people can view and print but not alter before it's returned. It's a lightweight way to signal intent to anyone using a standard PDF reader.
Where enforcement gets inconsistent
Not every PDF viewer honors these flags the same way. Some mobile apps and lightweight readers ignore permission bits entirely and let people print or copy regardless of your settings, while most mainstream desktop software and browser PDF viewers respect them. If you're relying on this for more than a soft nudge, test the file in the viewer your recipients actually use before sending it out widely.