Easy Guide: How to Unlock a PDF on Mac Even Without Password

"Without the owner password, you do not have permission to create or modify annotations in the document."

"Without the owner password, you do not have permission to copy portions of the document."

"Without the owner password, you do not have permission to insert, delete or rotate pages of the document."

"Without the owner password, you do not have permission to edit this document."

"Without the owner password, you do not have permission to print the document."

"Without the owner password, you do not have permission to save this document."

"This document is password protected. Please enter the password below."

Have you ever seen any one of these messages when opening or modifying a PDF in Mac Preview? Most likely, and here we’d like to show you how to unlock a PDF on Mac, even without password.

 Cisdem PDF Password Remover

1-Click Unlock PDF to View, Modify, Copy, Print PDF, More

• Remove owner password to annotate, copy, edit, print and save the PDF.
• Unlock user password from PDF without password.
• Provide multiple parameter options to reduce unlock time.
• Automatically identify the password type applied to the PDF.
• No quality loss of original PDF files after unlocking.
• Allow unlocking a large number of PDF files at once.

Free Download macOS 10.13 or later Free Download Windows 11/10/8/7

What Is the Owner/User Password for PDF on Mac?

We add passwords to PDF files for security enhancement, so our privacy can be protected.

There are 2 types of PDF password as follows:

PDF Owner password---also named as permission or master password, which specifies the operations that users are prevented from doing in the PDF file. These actions include creating or modifying annotations, copying portions, inserting/deleting/rotating pages, printing, saving or editing PDF. In other words, without the owner password, you do not have permission to create or modify annotations in the document, to copy portions of the document, to insert, delete or rotate pages of the document, to print, to save, or to edit this document.

PDF User password--- also named as open password, which completely encrypts the PDF file and prevents it from opening.

Also, we should know that, unlocking a PDF with owner password is much easier than that with a user password. In most cases, you cannot unlock a PDF if it is protected with a user password that you don’t know or forgot.

How to Unlock PDF on Mac Without Password?

Most of the time, we protect a PDF and remember the password, but there is still a good chance that we get several PDFs with unknown or forgotten PDF passwords, but actually have legal rights to access to it.

Nevertheless, we have a one-stop solution to unlock a PDF on Mac under any situation for you, no matter you know or forgot the password, no matter it is a user (open) password or owner (permission) password, by using the best PDF unlocker for Mac 2024.

The Best PDF Unlocker for Mac

Cisdem PDF Password Remover is exclusively designed to help individuals remove any restrictions they might encounter when working with PDF files on a Mac. It can directly remove the owner (permission) password protection from PDF without entering the password, so you can freely copy&paste, print and edit PDF files. Also, it can unlock PDF after a decryption process if the PDF is locked with an unknown user password, so you can instantly open and view the PDF file.

#1. How to Unlock PDF on Mac Without Owner Password

1. Download and install Cisdem PDF Password Remover on Mac.
   Free Download macOS 10.13 or later
2. Run the program, add owner(permission) password protected PDFs into the program by drag and drop or clicking Add Files.
3. Click Remove to unlock PDF on Mac without entering any password.

#2. How to Unlock PDF on Mac Without User Password

1. Download and launch the PDF Password Remover on your Mac.
   Free Download macOS 10.13 or later
2. Import user/open password protected PDF files to the PDF Unlocker for Mac.
3. Click Lock settings icon and choose Forgot? if you want to unlock PDF files without password. If you know the password, just enter it.
4. Tweak the setting below and provide clues to speed up the decryption, click Decrypt to start.
5. After the decryption, click Remove to unlock user password protected PDF files on Mac without password.

Or you can check the YouTube tutorial video to unlock PDF on Mac with Cisdem.

How to Unlock a PDF in Mac Preview

For Mac users, Preview can work as the best free PDF unlocker on Mac to unlock your PDF offline.

Preview is the free utility to open, view, edit and manage both image and PDF files on Mac. It meets most of your basic needs to work on a PDF, including encrypting and unlocking PDFs.

#1. Steps to Remove Password Protection from PDF After Opening

1. Open the owner password protected PDF document with Preview.
2. Go to File > Edit Permissions.
3. Input the owner password as required and click Unlock.
4. Allow specific or all the changes to be made without entering the owner password again by ticking the checkbox. Click Apply.

#2. Steps to Unlock User Password Protected PDFs in Preview

1. Open the user/open password protected PDF with Preview.
2. Input the user password as required. Press Enter to unlock the PDF.
3. If you want to unlock the PDF permanently without entering password every time you open the file, go to File > Edit Permissions, leave the User password blank, the original user password will be used as permission password for the file.

Best Free PDF Unlocker for Mac Online

Looking for an online free PDF unlocker to remove PDF password protection on mac? It is lucky that we have the choice. We recommend iLovePDF.

This site allows unregistered users to batch unlock password protected PDFs, and it unlocks both user-password protected PDFs and owner-password locked PDFs. However, when unlocking user password locked files, it only works when the password is quite simple, with 3 to 6 digits only. Any password with long password length, special symbols or characters will take forever to decrypt or won’t succeed at all. In this case, you’d better try Cisdem PDF Password Remover.

How to Unlock PDF on Mac Free Online

1. Go to iLovePDF Unlock PDF.
2. Upload password protected PDF online.
3. A lock icon will appear on the open password locked PDF. Click Unlock PDF to remove restrictions on your PDFs.
4. Download the unlocked PDFs to your Mac.

How to Unlock a PDF on Mac in Safari/Google Chrome?

Browsers like Safari and Google Chrome can also serve as a way to unlock a PDF on Mac for free, thanks to their built-in printing capabilities. This method is feasible only when the PDF is not restricted on printing. Besides, you need to input the password to open a PDF in Safari/Google Chrome if this PDF is locked with a user password.

Here We Show How to Unlock a PDF on Mac in Safari.

1. Right click on the PDF file and open it with Safari.
2. If your PDF is locked with a user password, enter the correct password to open it in Safari.
3. Go to File tab and choose Print feature.
4. In the Print window, expand PDF drop-down list and choose Save as PDF.
5. Rename the exported PDF, and click Save. In the new PDF, there are no restrictions that were imposed on the old PDF.

Why Is My PDF Locked on Mac?

There are several reasons making PDF locked. The most common of them are adding password protection to PDF, setting PDF to read-only and ticking lock PDF from editing when creating a digital signature. All these measures aim to protect the private and valuable information in the PDF file.

In addition to the solutions mentioned above to remove password protection from PDF, you can get the read-only mode back to read & write by right-clicking the PDF file and choosing "Get Info" > "Sharing & Permission". As for digitally signed PDF, you can unlock it to make modifications through deleting the added signature.

Conclusion

As a popular saying goes, every coin has two sides. Online PDF unlocker is often free, but quite feature limited, and involving risks like leakage of sensitive information. While, Cisdem PDF Password Remover provides more features for Mac users. It will be the most professional tool for you to unlock PDFs for editing, copying, printing, etc., and drive your productivity to new heights.