How to Password Protect a PDF in Google Drive

CloudHQ offers over 100 free email productivity apps to help you work smarter, not harder, at cloudhq.net. Today's story, how to password protect a PDF in Google Drive.

You sent your bank statements to one person, your accountant.

So why are they open on five screens? Every email can be forwarded.

Every folder can be re-shared.

Once an unprotected PDF leaves your hands, you may never know who opens it next.

PDF Encrypt by CloudHQ lets you password protect and encrypt PDFs directly from Google Drive.

Encrypt one PDF or hundreds at once, then share the protected files knowing that only people with the password can open them.

Let's walk through how it works.

First, how to password protect a PDF.

You don't need to download your file, open separate software, encrypt it, and upload it again.

PDF Encrypt works right inside Google Drive.

Open Google Drive, select the PDF or PDFs you want to protect, and right-click.

Choose Open With, then select PDF Encrypt.

Enter the password you want to use, copy it so you can share it with your recipient later, and click Encrypt.

PDF Encrypt creates protected copies of your files, and only someone with the correct password can open them.

Need to protect a whole batch? You can encrypt multiple PDFs at once.

Select all the files you want in Google Drive, right-click, and open them with PDF Encrypt.

Enter one password, click Encrypt, and it processes the whole group together.

That's a real time saver for a folder of bank statements, employee tax documents, client contracts, or legal case files.

Now, an important detail about where your encrypted files end up.

If you start from files already in your Google Drive, the encrypted copies save automatically back to your Drive, right alongside the originals.

If your files aren't in Drive, you can upload them from your computer instead, and the encrypted copies download straight back to your computer.

Either way, your original files are never changed.

You always end up with two versions, the original for your records and the encrypted copy for secure sharing.

So why bother password protecting a PDF in the first place? Because PDFs often hold information that was never meant for everyone.

Bank statements, tax returns, contracts, payroll records, medical forms.

The danger usually isn't a hacker.

It's one ordinary mistake, an email sent to the wrong