New Feature: Password-Protected PDF Generation

Hey everyone!

We’ve got a short but sweet one for you today. You’ve been asking for it, and we’re happy to deliver: you can now generate password-protected PDFs with PDFMonkey.

No new setting to toggle. No template to reconfigure. No complex setup. Just one field in your API call, and your PDF is locked.

How It Works

When you create a document through the API, you can pass a _password field in the meta object. That’s it. PDFMonkey handles the rest.

Here’s what it looks like:

{
  "document": {
    "document_template_id": "your-template-id",
    "payload": {
      "clientName": "Jane Doe",
      "contractId": "CTR-2026-042"
    },
    "meta": {
      "_filename": "contract-jane-doe.pdf",
      "_password": "s3cur3-p@ss!" // <-- That's the whole feature
    },
    "status": "pending"
  }
}

Yes, that’s really all there is to it. We know, the complexity is overwhelming 😄

If you don’t include _password in the meta, nothing changes: your PDF generates exactly as before, no password, no encryption. It’s opt-in, per document.

The pattern is the same as _filename: a special key in the meta object that tells PDFMonkey to do something extra during generation.

What Happens Under the Hood

When _password is present, your PDF gets encrypted with AES-256 after generation. The recipient needs the password you specified to open the document. Without it, the content stays locked.

A few things worth noting:

• Any template works. Code editor, Builder, existing templates, password protection works with all of them.
• No configuration needed. You don’t need to enable anything on the template or your account.
• It works with all integrations. Zapier, Make, Workato, n8n, Bubble, Glide, direct API,anywhere you can set the meta field.
• Per-document control. One document can be password-protected while the next one isn’t. Your call.
• Available on all plans. Free plan included. No upgrade required.

When to Use PDF Password Protection

This is useful whenever your generated documents contain sensitive or confidential information: contracts, financial reports, medical records, employee documents, legal paperwork. Basically, any PDF that shouldn’t be freely readable by anyone who stumbles upon the file.

Think about it: you’re generating invoices with banking details, salary slips with personal data, or NDAs with confidential terms. Now you can protect your PDF documents with a unique password and share them safely. PDF password protection is activated per document, so you stay in control.

FAQ

How do I password protect a PDF with an API?

Add "_password": "your-password" to the meta object when creating a document through the PDFMonkey API. The generated PDF will be encrypted with AES-256 and require the password to open. No template changes or account configuration needed.

Can I generate PDFs without a password?

Yes. If you don’t include the _password field in your meta, PDFs generate exactly as before: no encryption, no password. Password protection is entirely opt-in, per document.

What encryption does PDFMonkey use for password-protected PDFs?

PDFMonkey uses AES-256 encryption, the same standard used by governments and financial institutions. The PDF is encrypted after generation, and the recipient needs the exact password you specified to open the document.

Does password protection work with all integrations?

Yes. Password protection works with Zapier, Make, Workato, n8n, Bubble, Glide, and direct API calls. Anywhere you can set the meta field, you can add a password. It also works with all template types: Code editor, Builder, and existing templates.

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That’s all there is to it. We wanted to keep this feature as simple as the problem it solves: you need a password on your PDF, you add one field, done.

Check out the full documentation for details, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions.

The PDFMonkey Team 🐒