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PDFLove

4 tools

Protect and Sign PDFs

Lock, unlock, flatten, and sign documents before you send them.

Protect PDFEncrypt a document so only the right people can open it.Unlock PDFRemove a password you already know from your own document.Sign PDFDraw, type, or upload a signature and place it on the page.Flatten PDFMerge form fields, annotations, and layers into the page.

About

Lock, unlock, flatten, and sign documents before you send them.

This is the category where running in the browser stops being a nicety. Encrypting a document means handing over both the file and the password; signing one means handing over your signature. Through a conventional online tool that is two secrets uploaded to a stranger's server in order to protect a document from strangers.

Here neither leaves the tab. The password is used to derive the encryption key on your own machine, and the signature is drawn on a canvas and stamped into the page locally. The practical consequence is worth stating outright: nobody at this end can recover a password you lose, because nobody at this end ever had it.

FAQ

Questions about this group

Can I unlock a PDF whose password I do not have?

No. The unlock tool removes protection from documents you can already open — it does not crack or guess anything, and it is not a route into a file that is not yours. Permission-only restrictions, which leave a file readable but marked no-print, are the one case that lifts without a password.

How strong is the protection?

256-bit AES, the strongest the PDF specification offers and the same standard Acrobat applies. In practice the password is the weak link rather than the cipher, so a long and unique one is worth more than any other choice you could make here.

Is an electronic signature legally binding?

For everyday agreements, in many jurisdictions, generally yes — the US ESIGN Act and the EU's eIDAS regulation both recognise signatures applied with clear intent. Regulated or high-value contracts often require a qualified digital certificate, which is a different mechanism. Ask a lawyer rather than a converter's FAQ if the stakes are real.

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