Change or remove encryption from a PDF

You can change or remove security settings from PDF files that you’ve encrypted.

Change encryption settings

  1. Click the Secure button  in the Tasks toolbar, and choose Show Security Properties.
  2. Click Change Settings.
  3. Do any of the following, and then click Next.

    • To encrypt different document components, select that option.

    • To change the encryption algorithm, choose it from the menu.

  4. Do any of the following:

    • To check a recipient’s trusted identity, select the recipient, and then click Details.

    • To remove recipients, select one or more recipients, and then click Remove. Do not remove your own certificate from this list, or you won’t have access to the file using that certificate.

    • To change recipients’ permissions, select one or more recipients, and then click Permissions.

  5. Click Next, and then click Finish. Click OK to close the Document Properties dialog box, and save the document to apply your changes.

Remove encryption settings

  1. Click the Secure button  in the Tasks toolbar, and choose Remove Security.
  2. If prompted, type the Permissions password. If you don’t know the Permissions password, contact the author of the PDF.