Banks, insurers, phone companies and employers often send PDFs that are locked with a password, usually something like your date of birth, part of your account number or your customer ID. That keeps the file safe in your inbox, but it gets in the way when you need to upload the statement to a loan portal, print it at a shop, merge it with other papers or open it again and again. Unlock PDF removes the password so the file opens directly.
You need to know the password. This tool does not guess or crack passwords; it opens the file with the password you type, exactly like a PDF reader does, and then saves a copy without the lock. The email or letter that came with the file usually explains the password format, for example the first four letters of your name in capitals followed by your birth year. Passwords are case-sensitive, so check capital letters if it does not work the first time.
Some PDFs open without any password but stop you from printing, copying text or editing. For those, leave the password box empty: the restrictions are removed and you get a normal PDF that you can print and work with. If a file does need a password to open, the page tells you when the one you typed did not work, so you can try again.
The whole process runs in your browser. Your file and its password are never sent to a server, which matters because these are usually your most sensitive documents. The unlocked copy is saved as a new file ending in -unlocked, and your original stays locked. Pages, text, images and links are kept exactly as they were.
Only remove passwords from files you own or are allowed to open. Once unlocked, the file can be read by anyone who gets it, so store it carefully and delete copies you no longer need. If you want to share it safely later, Protect PDF can add a new password of your choice. Unlocked files also work with every other tool here, such as Merge PDF, Compress PDF and Split PDF.