Want to remove a password from a PDF file? If yes, you have stumbled upon the right webpage. In this article, I am going to share different workarounds that you can follow to remove passwords from PDF files in Google Drive.
So, without any further ado, let’s get started –
How to Remove Password from PDF Google Drive
PDF files that contain sensitive data are often password protected. Such files are protected from being opened, edited, or printed without the passwords.
While it is quite easy to decrypt such PDF files using the password, removing the password completely from the file can be a challenging task.
Even though Google Drive’s native functionality doesn’t offer any options to remove passwords from a password-protected PDF file, there are a few workarounds that you can follow to eradicate PDF passwords.
Read How to Print a Locked PDF in Google Drive
Method 1 – Steps to Remove Password from PDF in Google Drive using Google Drive’s Document Viewer
The very first method that we are going to share with you is quite simple and easy. All you have to do is follow these simple steps –
- Go to drive.google.com.
- Log in using your Google account credentials.
- Once logged in, click on the + New icon and upload your password-protected PDF file.
- Once the file upload process completes, you have to double click on the file to open it.
- This will open the file in Google’s document viewer. Here, you have to enter the password of the file to decrypt it.
- Once the file loads successfully, you will see the print option available at the top right corner of your screen. Click on it.
- It will take you to a new tab, and a print pop-up box will appear. You have to click on the Cancel button.
- After that, you will see the download button at the top right corner of your screen. Click on it to download the file on your computer.
That’s it. The file you just downloaded is not protected anymore with any sort of password, meaning anyone can easily open it without any authorization.
The best thing about this technique is that it is quite simple and easy to follow, and you don’t have to download any additional add-ons for it.
Read How to Embed PDFs from Google Drive
Method 2 – Remove Password from PDF in Google Drive using PDF Toolbox
Another easy technique to remove passwords from PDF files in Google Drive is by using an add-on named PDF Toolbox.
PDF Toolbox is a great Google Drive add-on that enhances the overall functionality of Google Drive by giving users the ability to encrypt or decrypt PDF files.
To remove the password of a PDF file using PDF Toolbox, you have to follow these simple steps –
- Go to Google Workspace Marketplace and install the PDF Toolbox add-on. You can visit the page using this direct link.
- Log in using your Google account. Simply use Google account credentials and give it all the necessary permissions.
- It will further ask you to allow PDF Toolbox to access your Google Drive files. You have to allow these permissions.
- Once the PDF Toolbox gets installed successfully, you will be able to see its icon on the right sidebar of your Google Drive.
- Select the password-protected PDF file you want to unlock and click on the PDF Toolbox icon from the right sidebar.
- It will ask you to authorize the PDF Toolbox to access the password-protected PDF file. Simply click on the Authorize option.
- It will give you two options – Encrypt PDF or Decrypt PDF. Since we have to remove the password, you have to select the Decrypt PDF option.
- You can set a custom name for the new unprotected file and enter the password of the PDF in the password field.
- After that, you have to click on the Decrypt option, and it will remove all the restrictions from that file.
That’s it. This is how you can easily remove passwords from PDF files in Google Drive using the PDF Toolbox add-on. Apart from helping you decrypt your files, PDF Toolbox can also be very useful for encrypting PDF files.
Not only encrypt, but this also lets you add multiple rules for the files, such as disabling printing and more.
Read How to Convert Image to PDF in Google Drive
How to Encrypt a File using PDF Toolbox
If you are interested to know, below, we have shared a step-by-step guide that would help you encrypt a file using PDF Toolbox. You can skip this section if you are not interested in learning this.
To encrypt a file using PDF Toolbox, you have to follow these simple steps –
- Go to drive.google.com.
- Select the file that you want to encrypt and click on the PDF Toolbox icon from the right sidebar.
- It will ask you to authorize the PDF Toolbox to access this file. Grant the authorization permission.
- Now, you have to expand the Encrypt PDF option instead of the Decrypt PDF one.
- Here, you can modify a few things, such as the name of the protected file, decryption password, other permissions such as allowing or disallowing printing, etc.
- Once you have configured everything, simply click on the Encrypt button, and that’s it.
This will create a new, password-protected PDF file for you and upload it to your Google Drive storage.
Read How to Delete PDF Files from Google Drive
FAQs on Remove Password from PDF Google Drive
With Google Drive, you get two options to remove a password from a PDF file. Both of the methods are mentioned above. However, if you don’t often receive password-protected PDF files, we recommend trying the first method. Otherwise, go with the PDF Toolbox one.
Sadly, if you don’t have the password of a PDF file, you may not be able to remove its password. There are plenty of tools that claim to do this for you but let me be honest, the majority of those tools are nothing but just a waste of time and effort. Plus, there are good chances that most of them contain some sort of malware or viruses.
PDF lets you protect your file with two types of passwords – the owner password and the reader password. The owner password lets you change the password, set permissions, modify data, and manage other things, while the user password only lets you view or print the file.
Closing Comments
There you have it – a detailed article on how to remove passwords from PDF files in Google Drive.
PDF is undoubtedly one of the most popular file formats for documents, and that is for some good reasons. For example, PDF files don’t boast lossy compression meaning your files won’t lose their quality even after sending thousands of times.
Along with that, the PDF file format lets you secure your data in multiple ways, making it a great file format for sharing sensitive data.
However, if you have come across a password-protected PDF file, you can follow the guide mentioned above to remove the password easily.
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Hello, my name is Shirley. I’m a Google Drive expert and have been working with the platform since it launched. I’ve written extensively about Google Drive tips and tricks, and have created numerous tutorials on how to get the most out of the platform. I also enjoy creating tutorials to help people learn how to use Drive like pros. Read more