So, without further ado, let’s check out all the ways you can add a password to your Word documents and how to remove it when necessary.

How to Password Protect a Word Document?

Here are the steps to password protect your Word document: 

On Windows

Your Word document is now successfully password-protected. The above steps for the MS Word desktop app are the same on Office 365. 

On MS Word (Web)

If you’re using the free version of Office online, it’s not possible to directly encrypt your file with a password or edit encrypted files. When you go to File > Info > Protect Document, you can only change the access to View-only. However, you can click on Open in Word and then follow the above steps to add a password to your Word document. 

On MS Word 2007

If your Windows OS is relatively old, like Windows 7 or you’re using MS Word 2007, you can also follow these steps: 

How to Password Protect a Word Document on Mac?

Here’s how you can easily password protect a Word document on Mac: 

How to Remove a Password From a Word Document?

If you want to remove a password from an encrypted Word document, here are the steps you can take: 

How to Password Protect PDF Files?

If you’ve already converted your Word files to PDF, you can still add a password protection. Here’s how you can do it through Adobe Acrobat:

How to Password Protect Word Documents in a Zip Folder?

If you have your multiple Word documents inside a Zip folder, you can directly add a password to the folder as well for added security. 

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title: “How To Password Protect A Word Document” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-01” author: “Therese Borden”


So, without further ado, let’s check out all the ways you can add a password to your Word documents and how to remove it when necessary.

How to Password Protect a Word Document?

Here are the steps to password protect your Word document: 

On Windows

Your Word document is now successfully password-protected. The above steps for the MS Word desktop app are the same on Office 365. 

On MS Word (Web)

If you’re using the free version of Office online, it’s not possible to directly encrypt your file with a password or edit encrypted files. When you go to File > Info > Protect Document, you can only change the access to View-only. However, you can click on Open in Word and then follow the above steps to add a password to your Word document. 

On MS Word 2007

If your Windows OS is relatively old, like Windows 7 or you’re using MS Word 2007, you can also follow these steps: 

How to Password Protect a Word Document on Mac?

Here’s how you can easily password protect a Word document on Mac: 

How to Remove a Password From a Word Document?

If you want to remove a password from an encrypted Word document, here are the steps you can take: 

How to Password Protect PDF Files?

If you’ve already converted your Word files to PDF, you can still add a password protection. Here’s how you can do it through Adobe Acrobat:

How to Password Protect Word Documents in a Zip Folder?

If you have your multiple Word documents inside a Zip folder, you can directly add a password to the folder as well for added security. 

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