Sometimes it may happen that for security reasons we receive an encrypted file, but we want to remove security from it. If only because we open it often and entering the password every time is tedious. But how to remove the password from a PDF file?
Below we will explain this process step by step for both Windows and MacOS devices. We would like to point out that the purpose of this guide is to explain how to remove protection from a PDF if we know the password. We will not explain here how to break a file’s security if we do not know the password.
How to remove password from PDF file in Windows
Removing a password from a PDF is relatively simple, but requires the use of an external tool. This may be a paid tool, but you can also use a free program. If we don’t want to pay, we can download the free SwifDoo PDF.
Then we need to open the password-protected file using it. A window will appear in which we must enter the correct password and confirm it with Enter or the OK button.
Then click on “Decryption” in the upper side of the program panel and a decryption window will pop up.
Enter the password of the PDF file and select the Save Path to save the encrypted file.
Select the location where you want to save the file, give it a name and click “Apply“. Wait a while and the unpassword-protected PDF file should appear in your selected location. And that’s it!
How to remove a password from a PDF on MacOS devices
It’s even easier on MacOS devices because you don’t need to download any external software. How to remove a password from a PDF file on macOS? All you need is the Preview app.
First, open the file in Preview and enter the correct password. Then select “File” from the menu and “Export” from the drop-down list.
Save the new file under a name of your choice in any location. Remember that the “encrypt” option is not selected. And that’s it – an unsecured PDF file should appear in the selected location.
Bonus: Save a Word document as PDF and password protect it
Do you know any way to convert a document created in Word into PDF format (so that no one can make changes to it) and, additionally, protect the PDF file with a password?
You know, GDPR requirements, security policy, etc. I read the question and needed a moment to think about it.
How to save a Word document in PDF format(on Windows)
The first step is to save the document in Word as PDF, this can be done directly in Word. Select File > Save As.
In the next step, expand the Save as type setting, select PDF file from the drop-down menu, after saving, the program will automatically save the document as PDF.
This was the simpler part of the task, the second step was to protect the PDF with a password.
How to password protect a PDF file
To do this, click the Options button and then in the PDF format options section, select Encrypt document using password.
The next step is to enter a password between 6 and 32 characters and that’s it.
And alliteratively, the aforementioned SwifDoo PDF can help you set up a password quickly and easily for you.
Summary
We hope that with this article we managed to adequately answer the question of how to remove a password from a PDF file. It cannot be denied that removing passwords from PDF on Apple devices is easier due to the possibility of using a free, built-in application. However, Windows users should also be able to handle it without any major problems.
