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Unlock any PDF, instantly.

Drop a copy-protected PDF and get it back fully copy-pasteable. Everything runs in your browser, your files never leave your device.

Drop your PDF here

or browse files

Restricted, permission-locked, or read-only PDFs

Works offline once loaded — your file is never uploaded. (Scanned PDFs need internet on first use to fetch the OCR engine; cached after.)

Upload your locked PDF
We strip the restrictions
Copy text & download
Runs in your browser No server involved
Your files stay private Never uploaded anywhere
Instant processing No account needed
Used automatically when pages are scanned images
FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Can I copy text from a protected PDF?

Yes. CopyPasteAnyPDF removes the copy-paste restrictions from any PDF instantly, so you can select and copy text freely — no software to install.

How do I remove PDF copy restrictions for free?

Upload your PDF, wait a few seconds while we strip the restrictions, then copy text directly from the viewer or download the unlocked PDF.

Is my PDF uploaded to a server?

No — really. CopyPasteAnyPDF is a static website with no backend. There is literally no server to upload to: no database, no file storage, no logging. It's just HTML + JavaScript that runs in your browser tab.

Five ways you can prove it to yourself in under a minute:

  1. DevTools Network tab — press F12, open Network, filter by Fetch/XHR, then open a PDF. You will see zero outbound requests carrying your data. The only network activity is the one-time CDN load of PDF.js, pdf-lib, and (for scanned PDFs) the Tesseract.js OCR engine — your browser then caches them.
  2. Offline test — load the page once with internet, then disconnect Wi-Fi / Ethernet (or turn on airplane mode). Open a PDF, copy text, unlock, download. It all works. A page that secretly uploaded your file could not do that.
  3. Read the code yourself — every line of JavaScript that touches your file ships to your browser in plain text. Right-click the page → View Page Source, or open the JS files directly in the DevTools Sources tab. Search for fetch( or XMLHttpRequest — you'll only find calls to the CDN library URLs, never to a backend that receives your file.
  4. Content-Security-Policy — the page declares a strict CSP (visible at the top of View Page Source) that browsers enforce and that explicitly whitelists only the CDN origins for libraries. Even if a future bug or compromised dependency tried to POST your data somewhere, the browser would block the request.
  5. No analytics, no trackers — your file never goes through any analytics pipeline. The site uses Cloudflare's anonymous page-view counter for traffic stats; that beacon does not see your file or its contents.

If you work somewhere that needs extra assurance, save the page locally (Ctrl/⌘+S → "Webpage, Complete") and open the saved index.html from your own machine or intranet. Same code, no internet required after the first load.

How can I verify my file isn't being sent anywhere?
Two ways to check:
  1. Offline test — load the page once with internet so the libraries cache, then disconnect your Wi-Fi or ethernet. Drop in a PDF and process it. It works exactly the same. Nothing can reach a server if there's no internet. (For scanned PDFs you need internet on the very first run so the OCR engine can download — after that, even OCR works offline.)
  2. DevTools Network tab — open your browser's developer tools (F12), go to the Network tab, and filter by Fetch/XHR. Process a file. You'll see zero outbound requests carrying your data. The only network activity is the one-time CDN load of the libraries themselves (PDF.js, pdf-lib, and — for scanned PDFs — the Tesseract.js OCR engine + English language model, totalling ~12 MB which your browser then caches). After that initial load, you can disconnect your internet and everything still works locally.
What if the PDF contains scanned images instead of text?

CopyPasteAnyPDF automatically detects scanned pages and runs OCR (optical character recognition) using Tesseract.js to extract the text. You can also manually select any region to OCR.

Does this work on password-protected PDFs?

It works on PDFs with permission restrictions (copy, print, edit locked). PDFs that require a password to open cannot be unlocked without the password.

Is CopyPasteAnyPDF really free?

Yes, completely free, no account required, no ads. If it saves you time, you can optionally leave a tip via Ko-fi to help keep it running.

How do I report a bug or request a feature?

One click — — opens a small panel with a ready-to-fill template that already includes your CopyPasteAnyPDF version and browser. Copy it, or send straight from your mail app. Your document stays on your machine — only your message is sent.