How to open a password-protected PDF file on Android.

A man uses his Android phone to open a password-protected PDF file.

Work on Android with encrypted PDFs. Learn how to open password-protected PDF files on Android devices.

Many people work and study on Android devices — and those tasks often include viewing PDF files. Occasionally, you may receive a password-protected PDF that contains sensitive information. But can you open documents like that on Android? The short answer is yes, you can.

Read on to discover how to open a password-protected PDF file on Android.

What do I need to open a password-protected PDF file on Android?

To open a password-protected PDF file on an Android device, you will need a PDF reader app that supports password-protected PDFs, such as the Adobe Acrobat Reader app for Android.

How to open a password-protected PDF file in Android.

It’s very easy to open password-protected PDF documents, even on Android, if you know the password. Simply open the PDF document and enter the password when your Android device prompts you for it. Any mobile PDF readers worth their salt support passwords and can unlock the files.

If you’re using Acrobat Reader, you can follow these steps to open your password-protected PDF files:

Open the Adobe Acrobat Reader app.
Navigate to the location of the PDF file on your Android device.
Tap the PDF file.
You will be prompted to enter the password. Type the password for the PDF and press OK.
If the password is correct, the PDF file will open.

How to remove a PDF password in Android.

If your Android PDF reader doesn’t support password protection or you don’t know the password, you may be able to remove it entirely. When you think about removing passwords from PDF files, it might initially feel a bit iffy to you. In fact, you may even wonder if it’s legal.

Don’t worry, though — there are perfectly valid reasons to remove PDF passwords. You may have just forgotten the password to PDFs you protected yourself. Another common reason is that the information on the document has gone public and doesn’t need protection anymore.

PDF editing software, like Adobe Acrobat Pro, can remove PDF passwords and more on Android devices and computers. There are also online PDF password removers, but it’s best to avoid them, as they could compromise information security.

Of course, you should never remove passwords from PDFs you don’t have the right to read. Doing so is not only wrong — it could even be illegal. But as long as you’re doing it for the right reasons, removing the password is an acceptable way to open password-protected PDFs on Android.

How to open a password-protected PDF file on Android and save the password.

You can save your password for your password-protected PDF files on Android using Google Autofill Service, an Android built-in feature that can help you save and manage your passwords. Follow these simple steps to save your passwords on your Android device:

Open the Settings app on your Android device.
Scroll down and tap System > Languages and Input > Advanced > Autofill service.
Tap Google to select Google as your autofill service.
If prompted, sign in to your Google account.
After you finish enabling the Google Autofill Service, the next time you enter a password in an app — such as Acrobat Reader — or a website, you will be asked if you want to save it. Tap Save to save the password so that the next time you visit the same site or app, Google Autofill Service will automatically fill in the password for you.

What if I forgot the PDF password on Android?

Unfortunately, if you forget the password to a password-protected PDF file, you won’t be able to open it. Unlike some other types of files or services, PDF files do not have a password recovery option built into them. Since the password is used to encrypt the content of the file, without the password, the content can’t be decrypted and viewed.

Some suggestions for opening a password-protected PDF file when you have forgotten the password are:

Check your email. If someone else sent you the PDF, you can check if they included the password in an email or other form of communication.
Contact the sender. If someone else created the password-protected PDF, you can ask them to remind you.
Use a password manager. If you’ve saved the password in a password manager, you can retrieve it from there.

Troubleshooting tips for password-protected PDF files in Android.

Some of the most common difficulties when opening password-protected PDF files in Android are not remembering the correct password or having issues downloading the files. Here are some troubleshooting tips for opening your password-protected PDF files in Android:

Incorrect password. Make sure you’re entering the correct password to open your file. Remember that passwords are usually case-sensitive, so if you’ve copied and pasted the password, make sure there are no extra spaces.
Update your PDF reader app. If you’re having trouble opening the PDF file, check that your PDF reader app is up to date.
File download issues. If you downloaded the PDF from the internet, there might have been an issue with the download process that caused the file to be incomplete and corrupt. To fix this, you can try downloading the file again.
Storage problems. If the PDF is stored on an SD card, there might be an issue with the card. You can try moving the PDF to your device’s internal storage and then opening it.