How to remove a PDF password on iPhone or Android

To remove a PDF password on a phone, open Unlock PDF in Safari or Chrome, tap Choose a PDF, type the password in Current password and tap Unlock PDF →. You get a copy that opens without a password. It needs no app, and the file and password stay on your phone. You must know the password. The tool can’t find, guess or crack a forgotten one.

Common reasons to remove it

• Bank statements, salary slips and e-Aadhaar files often arrive locked, and some upload forms refuse password-protected PDFs.
• Other PDF tools, including merge and compress tools, can’t open a locked file.
• Typing a long password every time you open a file on a phone is slow.

Keep the original protected file too. If the PDF has a digital signature, the new copy may no longer show it as valid.

Why the password is needed

A PDF that asks for a password when you open it is encrypted. Its pages are stored in scrambled form, and the password is the key that turns them back into readable pages. Unlock PDF uses the password you type to read the pages, then saves them again without encryption. Without the right password there is nothing readable to save, which is why no honest tool can remove a password nobody knows. If you’ve forgotten it, ask whoever sent the file for the password or for a new copy.

First, save the PDF to your phone

The browser picks files from your phone’s storage, not straight from an email or chat.

• iPhone: in Mail, touch and hold the attachment, then choose Save to Files. From WhatsApp or another app, use Share, then Save to Files.
• Android: download the attachment. Chrome and most mail apps save to your default download location.

Step by step

1. Open pdfreadygo.com/unlock-pdf in Safari or Chrome.
2. Tap Choose a PDF and pick the locked file from Files or Downloads.
3. Type the password in Current password. Tick Show password to see what you typed, which helps on small keyboards.
4. Tap Unlock PDF →.
5. When “Password removed. This copy opens without a password.” appears, tap Download result ↓.

We tested these steps on November 2, 2026 in Chrome on an Android-sized screen and Safari on an iPhone-sized screen, with a one-page sample PDF of 1.90 MB locked with AES-256. Both gave a copy without the password, of the same size and with the same page.

On iPhone, Safari saves the copy to Downloads in the Files app. On Android, find it in Chrome’s Downloads list or the Files app.

Several locked files with the same password

Unlock PDF takes up to 25 PDFs at once, 100 MB in total, as long as they share the same password. You can download them one by one or together as a ZIP.

If it doesn’t work

• “That password is not correct.” Passwords are case-sensitive. Check capital letters, and that the keyboard didn’t add a space or capitalize the first letter.
• The file opens without a password but won’t print or copy. Those are permission settings, not an open password. Unlock PDF leaves them unchanged.
• The password is forgotten. Ask the sender for it or for a new copy. Banks usually explain their statement password format in the email or on their website.
• The file is very large. Each file can be up to 30 MB. Phones have less memory than computers, so close other tabs if it stalls.

Related tools

• What is the e-Aadhaar PDF password?
• Protect PDF: add a password back before sharing.
• How to combine PDFs on iPhone or Android