Sharing private information online makes most people uneasy. According to statistics, 

, while 37% have experienced data breaches. If you’re emailing sensitive personal or 

 information, you should go the extra mile to keep it safe.

 so this guide will show you how to encrypt a PDF file for email correspondence.

There are several ways to protect your PDFs from unauthorized access:

 using your email service provider’s (ESP’s) built-in security features

Each option has specific benefits and drawbacks,

 so we’ll explain them in more detail to help you send 

How to email password-protected PDF files

A common way to secure a PDF is to password-protect it before sending. Most users’ preferred PDF viewer and editor is Adobe Acrobat, which comes with useful security features.

Encrypting your file with Acrobat involves a few quick steps:

Tools > Protect > Encrypt > Encrypt with Password

, select the appropriate Acrobat version. It must be the same as the recipient’s so they can open the PDF. Note that different Acrobat versions use varying encryption standards:

(you can also choose to only encrypt metadata or file attachments, but encrypting all contents is the safest option)

Confirm your choices, retype the password, and click on 

The above option is only available to Acrobat Pro users. The good news is that Adobe offers something similar if you use the free version or don’t use their software at all.

How to encrypt a PDF file for email for free with Adobe’s online protection tool

Adobe’s online tool lets you turn any PDF document into a password-protected one. Here’s how to use it:

Download the protected file and attach it to your email

While password protection is a solid way to limit access to your file,

 it leaves a significant loophole—you must share the password with the recipient.

 If email is your only form of communication, you won’t have another option but to send the password along with the file, which defeats the purpose of setting one in the first place.

You can arrange another way of password exchange through SMS or a third-party app

, but doing so can complicate the process and lead to additional security risks by increasing the potential attack surface.

How to encrypt a PDF for email using your provider’s security settings

Most major email service providers enable you to send 

 rather than the attachment alone, which increases the 

 to create a new email, and attach the PDF you want to send

In the bottom row, click on the lock icon to turn on 

Chose the expiration period from the available options

—The recipient will get the passcode to their 

—Gmail users can open the email without restrictions until it expires, while non-users will get the passcode via email

The main drawback of this method is that you can’t choose your password—Google does it for you.

 This means you don’t get as much confidentiality as the feature’s name implies because Google stores the password and can access your email.

Other providers offer similar features, adding basic 

The problem is that none of them offer enough protection from third parties or 

To ensure your PDF reaches the recipient without data breaches, you should choose an email service with ironclad encryption.

Encrypt a PDF for email without hassle with the right provider

Password PDF protection is always welcome, but it doesn’t ensure your file reaches the recipient safely. To make this happen, your email service provider should offer comprehensive and automatic email encryption.

, which is only slightly safer than the completely unsecured 

. It protects your emails while they’re moving between 

 by scrambling their contents into unintelligible strings of characters. If an email is intercepted, the attacker won’t be able to read its contents.

This method seems secure enough at first glance, but it begs two questions:

Are your emails also invisible to providers?

Does this encryption type protect emails stored on servers?

 create and store the decryption keys on their servers, so they can see the contents of your emails. If the servers are 

, your sensitive information is at a significant risk because TLS doesn’t protect data at rest.

To keep your correspondence safe at every point between you and the recipient, you need 

 It can secure your emails in two ways depending on the type:

— Uses one key for encrypting and decrypting messages that gets shared among users

—Uses two keys—a public key for encrypting emails and a private one for deciphering the contents. As the decryption key is safely stored on a user’s device rather than the provider’s server, nobody but the recipient can access your messages or attachments

Many email services promise solid E2EE, but only a handful check all the necessary boxes. Your provider should combine airtight security with ease of use, which most fail to achieve.

A good example is Gmail’s E2EE. It’s only available to paid G Suite users and relies on the S/MIME protocol, a widely-used E2EE standard. To start using it, you must:

Configure it in your Gmail settings, which is inconvenient and complex for users who aren’t tech-savvy

By moving beyond Big Tech, you’ll find several privacy-first providers that don’t involve hefty investments or bothersome setups.

 You should still look closely at their security and privacy standards, as many popular options use PGP (Pretty Good Privacy), which was tied to 

If you need an E2EE solution that implements the most advanced cryptographic techniques without sacrificing the user experience,

How Skiff Mail protects your files and correspondence

 uses two separate keys to ensure your emails and attachments are only accessible to the recipient. Every email is encrypted using the public key, and the private key never leaves the user’s device. As only the recipient has the decryption key, nobody—not even Skiff’s team—can read the emails but them.

You don’t need to manually configure any certificates or settings—all security standards are built-in and predefined

, so you can enjoy outstanding privacy from the moment you create the account. Skiff went above and beyond to create a straightforward, intuitive user interface that every user can navigate easily, regardless of their tech skills.

Skiff Mail is jam-packed with useful features to provide smooth file sharing and correspondence:

—Typically reserved for paid solutions, the thorough email and text search function is available for free with Skiff

—The platform integrates with reputable wallets to provide safety and 

 of your online correspondence and crypto transactions:

—Store and manage your PDFs in an end-to-end encrypted drive

—Direct messages from multiple accounts into one inbox and manage them effortlessly

—Skiff’s code is open for reviews and contributions by developers. Read the 

 for a deeper insight into the platform’s security practices

Take your file management to the next level with Skiff’s diverse product suite

Besides secure email, Skiff offers three end-to-end encrypted products you can use to complete your work without worrying about security—

Check out the table below for detailed descriptions:

Create a free account and start sharing files securely

Skiff offers confidentiality from the moment you sign up. You don’t need to leave any personal details to get started—creating an account takes three quick steps:

Start using Skiff’s privacy-first products

, and the plan is robust enough to give average users all the tools necessary to stay safe online. If you’d like to expand your workflow or unlock extra features, you can choose between 

How to encrypt a PDF file for email and send your attachments securely

Emailing has been one of the primary methods of communication since the dawn of the digital age—especially for confidential and 

 we send and receive through the average email service provider?

While this correspondence is susceptible to different 

 These solutions are designed to protect the contents of your email account against loss, compromise, or unauthorized access by third parties.

To choose the best option for email protection

 providers (ESPs) are trustworthy and ensure the complete confidentiality of our online correspondence, but that’s not always the case.

 or Outlook isn’t completely safe because your email data is at risk from threats like:

What email security solutions are available?

 from different attacks, ESPs and email security companies use email protection tools like:

According to Statista, spam messages make up 

. Because email communication is so widespread, many businesses send unsolicited emails for marketing purposes. When left unchecked, those marketing emails clog up users’ inboxes and make them miss crucial information.

Spam is more than an inconvenience because cybercriminals often use fake marketing emails for scams.

 If the recipients open them and unsuspectingly click on the malicious links, their devices can become infected with viruses and other malware.

That’s why popular ESPs use cutting-edge spam filters to separate junk mail, spam, and phishing attempts from legitimate messages and emails that users are more likely to be interested in. Some spam filters are built into email clients and protocols, but you can install additional tools. That’s advisable if you have a 

 because you get no protection out of the box.

However, spam filters come with a few disadvantages because they:

—Spammers constantly create new fake emails, sometimes managing to send thousands of them before your spam filter blocks their domain, IP, or email address

—Spam filters run on automated algorithms, often marking real messages as spam after mistakenly interpreting specific words as red flags

—Scammers sometimes use large amounts of legitimate text to fool spam filters and appear genuine

No spam filter can guarantee 100% precision. While they can separate most spam messages from real ones and delete them, sometimes the damage has already been done.

If you open a malicious email and interact with a malware-filled attachment or link, your system won’t be repaired by deleting the questionable email. This is especially problematic with business emails opened on company computers because a virus could quickly spread to other machines on your corporate network.

Anti-virus solutions scan incoming and outgoing emails, detect harmful attachments, and block them from entering or exiting your system. 

Most popular ESPs, including Gmail and Outlook, have built-in anti-virus solutions.

There are two issues with email anti-virus software:

—Like spam filters, anti-virus solutions frequently mark clean files as potentially dangerous. That’s particularly true if you send or receive executable files and file archives (like WinZip or WinRAR)

—Cybercriminals always find new ways to hack emails and create threats for which your current anti-virus protection wasn’t designed. Anti-virus databases are frequently updated to reflect these changes, but the process takes time

If you want to ensure no one reads a confidential message, learning how to 

 is a great idea. Gmail has a Confidential Mode which you can turn on to equip your email with a passcode, and some other ESPs provide similar options.

When you create a password and only give it to the intended recipient, no one else can open your email or download the 

This approach is effective but remains a secondary security method for the following reasons:

—Spam filters and anti-virus software are automatic, while password protection requires specific actions from you and the recipient

Reliance on other devices and their security

—You must communicate the password to the intended recipient, which typically means you have to call them or send them a message. As phones can get misplaced or stolen, and you can’t be sure how safe another person’s device is, the security of your message can be compromised

—Many major ESPs don’t provide password protection, such as 

—Your ESP can scan your emails even with password protection

Encryption is a data security technique that involves scrambling your messages with a cipher that makes them unreadable to anyone but the person with the decryption key. In the case of email, this person is the intended recipient.

Most ESPs like Outlook and Gmail use some type of encryption—in most cases, the email TLS encryption protocol. 

Unfortunately, this protocol and most others have one flaw—they’re server-based.

Hackers who gain access to an ESP’s email servers could bypass their encryption because that’s where the decryption keys are stored. The good news is that a specific type of encryption solves this problem—end-to-end encryption (E2EE).

Why is E2EE encryption the best email security solution?

Unlike the server-based encryption methods used by most ESPs, 

With E2EE, your messages are encrypted before they’re uploaded to an email server. Even if the server is vulnerable to hacker activity, cybercriminals with access couldn’t read your messages. The email data stays encrypted until it reaches the recipient’s device, where the only decryption key is stored. That key is never uploaded to your email client, contrary to TLS and other server-based encryption protocols.

That’s why the method is called “end-to-end” encryption—it protects email data at both endpoints, the sender’s and the recipient’s device. The only problem with E2EE is that it’s not available everywhere—Gmail, Outlook, and other corporate ESPs only provide server-based encryption.

Here’s a quick comparison of all email security solutions we’ve mentioned above to help you understand why E2EE is the best method for protecting your online messages:

If you want to implement end-to-end encryption into your online communication, forget about mainstream ESPs and try 

—an advanced, beautifully designed, and comprehensive E2EE solution that provides the highest level of protection to your digital correspondence.

How Skiff ensures complete email security

 platform with built-in E2EE. It’s your best option for sending private messages and 

The platform’s E2EE algorithm is based on asymmetric encryption. 

Every Skiff user has two sets of mathematically related keys:

Public key—visible to other Skiff users or, more precisely, to their devices

Private key—never shared and safely stored on the recipient’s device

When you send an email through Skiff, it’s encoded with the recipient’s public key. However, the message can’t be decoded without the corresponding private key, which only the recipient has. As a result, the only two people who can see the content of the message are the sender and the recipient. Not even Skiff can ever bypass the encryption, so your emails are safe from unauthorized access, including third-party digital ad platforms and cybercriminals.

Take advantage of Skiff’s E2EE products

Skiff is more than an email service provider—the platform offers a modern productivity suite that rivals G-Suite when it comes to ease of use and security.

—private file-sharing and storage platform

—encrypted online collaboration and workspace

All these tools are browser-based, but you can seamlessly access them via Android and 

Exchanging private emails is simpler with Skiff

Creating a Skiff account is as simple as it gets:

Unlike most other ESPs, Skiff is open-source and completely transparent.

 Every piece of information about its encryption model is publicly available—check out 

The platform is also future-proof thanks to its native web3 integration. You can log into Skiff with MetaMask credentials without any prior registration and tie your newly private email with your anonymous crypto transactions.

Thanks to its E2EE email protocol, Skiff Mail is the most 

 and send emails without worrying about privacy or safety.

The best email security services to keep your online communication safe

We’ve just released a huge update to Skiff Drive: Now, you can quickly and easily upload and download multi-gigabyte files.

Previously, Drive upload and download was significantly limited by your device’s memory, wherein a large (even 200 MB+) file could lead to significant memory usage. For some users, this led to tabs crashing, files failing to upload, and inconsistent upload or download behavior across devices.

Now, Skiff Drive streams end-to-end encrypted uploads and downloads directly from your browser to your device, enabling users on any device, including memory-constrained mobile phones, to efficiently upload and download significant amounts of data.

Below, we’ve included a table of pricing plans for Skiff Free, Pro, and Business tiers on Skiff. Business plans bring higher storage limits, more aliases, custom domains, and larger workspaces for your families, teams, and enterprises.

You can upgrade to the Pro or Business tiers inside the Skiff 

 to immediately increase your storage from 10 GB to 100 GB (Pro) or 1 TB (Business).

Skiff Drive is accessible via the web client at 

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/skiff-drive/id6443979306

), and Drive can be used from the native macOS app as well. You can upload files to Drive from the Android Skiff Pages app, and a dedicated Skiff Drive on Android is coming soon.

On the Free plan, you have a total of 10 GB of storage across all Skiff products. On the Pro plan, each workspace user has 100 GB of storage. On the Business plan, each user has 1 TB of storage that can be used across Mail, Calendar, Pages, and Drive.

Can files be uploaded or downloaded from mobile devices?

Yes! You can easily upload and download Skiff Drive files from any mobile or Desktop app. Visit 

 for all mobile and desktop app downloads.

How can you sync files to desktop clients on macOS, Windows, or Linux?

Skiff Drive does not have a folder synchronization client yet. However, files are instantly synced across all devices and clients, including web and mobile. As a result, you can use the native apps or macOS app to synchronize files easily across different devices. The web clients can also be used for simple file or folder upload and download.

Huge Drive performance upgrade

Ehsan is a Senior Software Engineer at Skiff. He architected Skiff's Mail and Calendar products and designed core components of Skiff's E2EE platform. Previously, Ehsan worked in autonomous driving at Ike Robotics and Nuro.

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