How to email a PDF securely, with a password
Sending payslips, statements or medical letters by email? Lock the PDF on a Mac, send the password another way, and avoid the slips that undo it.
The problem
You need to email a payslip, a bank statement or a medical letter, and email feels too open for it.
How do I password protect a PDF before emailing it?
In Preview, choose File > Export, tick Encrypt, and set a password. Save it under a clear new name. See password protect a PDF.
How should I send the PDF password?
- By text message or a messaging app.
- By phone.
- Agreed in advance, such as a pattern you use with your accountant.
Never in the same email as the file, and not in the next email to the same address either: whoever can read one can read the other.
What mistakes undo a password protected PDF?
- Attaching the unlocked original by mistake. Name the locked copy clearly, with protected in the name.
- Writing what is inside in the subject line.
- Using the same password for everyone you send to.
Our take
The password is only as private as the channel you send it by. A strong password sent in the next email adds nothing; a weak one sent by text adds a real second lock, because now someone needs both your inbox and your phone.
In Simply PDF
Simply PDF's Password tool, with a key, locks a PDF and saves it beside the original with protected in the name, so you attach the right one. Too big to attach once locked? See PDF too large to email.
Questions
Is it safe to email a password protected PDF?
It is much safer than an unlocked one, as long as the password is sent a different way.
How should I send the PDF password?
By text, phone or another app. Never in the same email as the file.