Agencies and studios
Photographers
Podcasters
Video and social creators
Marketers and content teams
Download free
macOS and Windows. Your files stay on your computer.
macOS and Windows. Your files stay on your computer.
Lock contracts, price lists and statements so only the people you choose can open them, or let anyone open them but block printing and copying. Protect a whole batch with the same passwords in one run. The file and its password never leave your computer.
OpenLockedReal result from the recording: 3 PDFs, AES-256, password to open
Intel Mac or need help installing? All downloads
Hangar runs on Mac and Windows. Open this page there to download.
What leaves your computer
None of your documents.
The test that matters
An attachment sent as it is opens for anyone who gets it. A Hangar copy asks for the password in any PDF reader, and a wrong one gets nowhere.
Anyone who ends up with the file can read it.
All three files in the recording were locked, checked with a PDF reader that is not Hangar.
Print, copy and edit limits are optional. Some PDF readers do not enforce them; the open password always applies.
The alternative
A website can add a password, and so can Preview on a Mac for one file. But a website means sending the document and its password to the same server.
Online PDF protectors: Smallpdf’s free plan and apps, checked June 2026.See the full comparison
How it works
Every file in the run gets the same passwords and permissions. Make your other edits first: a locked PDF cannot be compressed or numbered.
The owner password is required and protects the settings. Add a user password to keep people out: it is the one readers type to open the file.
Turn off printing, copying text, editing or annotations. Each copy ends in -protected, and your original is left without a password.
New to Hangar? How to run a tool, step by step
Choose how locked
A user password is the only setting that stops someone opening the file. Permissions ask the reader app to block printing or copying: most apps respect them, some do not.
Nobody opens the file without the password.
Best for contracts, statements and personal data.
Anyone can open it, but most readers will not print it.
Best for drafts and previews meant to be read, not printed.
Readers can view the text but not copy it out.
Best for priced proposals and paid material.
Every setting, explained in the Encrypt PDF guide Owner password · User password · Allow printing · Allow copying text · Allow editing
Every tool is free for 3 days, with no account and no card. After that, Hangar is a one-time payment from $45, with updates for the version you buy. There is no subscription.
No. Hangar cannot recover a lost password, so write it down somewhere safe before you send the file.
Not if it asks for one to open. Remove it with Unlock PDF first, then encrypt the unlocked copy with your new settings.
Every file in one run shares the same passwords. Run the tool once per recipient, with that person’s files and password.
Files are encrypted with AES-256. The protection is only as strong as your password, and the permission settings alone do not stop a determined person, so set a user password for anything private.
Only the owner password is required. Add a user password too if you want to control who can view the file, or leave it blank so anyone can open it while the permission settings still apply in readers that respect them.
Yes. Turn off Allow printing and leave the user password blank. The file opens normally, and readers that respect PDF permissions will not print it. Some apps ignore these settings, so use a user password for anything truly private.
No. Your files are processed on your computer and never sent anywhere. Hangar sends anonymous usage counts to improve the app, never file names or contents, and you can turn that off in Settings.
Yes. A license works on any mix of Mac and Windows computers. Solo covers 1 computer, Crew 3 and Fleet 10.
Who uses it
Lock a priced proposal so its figures cannot be copied out.
Hangar for agencies and studiosPut a user password on each client’s statements and send the password by text.
Protect offer letters and payslips before they go out by email.
One app, one payment
The same app merges, splits, signs, redacts and reads scanned PDFs, and does the same kind of work for images, video and audio. One payment covers every tool.
Save it as a chain
A batch of HTML invoices becomes compact PDFs, each locked with a password, in one run.
How chains workThen pay once, from $45, for every tool and the updates for your version. No subscription. 30-day refund.See plans
Intel Mac or need help installing? All downloads
Hangar runs on Mac and Windows. Open this page there to download.