Password protect

Encrypts the file itself, so it can't be opened in any reader without the password.

This produces a download, not a stored change.

An encrypted file can't be thumbnailed, searched or edited without the password, so the copy kept here stays unencrypted. Protection is a way of handing the file to someone else.

Going the other way — removing a password — happens at upload: drop a locked PDF in and you'll be asked for its password once, then it's stored unlocked.

DocumentNew password

Allow the recipient toPrintCopy textAnnotate and fill forms

These are viewer-enforced flags, not encryption. A determined reader can ignore them; the password is the part that actually protects the file.

Password protect

Encrypts the file itself, so it can't be opened in any reader without the password.

This produces a download, not a stored change.

An encrypted file can't be thumbnailed, searched or edited without the password, so the copy kept here stays unencrypted. Protection is a way of handing the file to someone else.

Going the other way — removing a password — happens at upload: drop a locked PDF in and you'll be asked for its password once, then it's stored unlocked.

DocumentNew password

Allow the recipient toPrintCopy textAnnotate and fill forms

These are viewer-enforced flags, not encryption. A determined reader can ignore them; the password is the part that actually protects the file.