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jakyasar
Participating Frequently
June 10, 2021
Answered

minimum password character requirement

  • June 10, 2021
  • 3 replies
  • 36601 views

Did Adobe recently change the minimum character requirement for a password from 4 to 6?

    Correct answer Meenakshi Negi

    Hi All,

     

    Adding to the information provided above.

     

    Please refer to the information provided in the following help document: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/set-pdf-passwords-fewer-than-six-characters-long.html to set fewer than six characters long password for a PDF.

     

    Hope the information helps.

     

    Thanks,

    Meenakshi

    3 replies

    Meenakshi Negi
    Community Manager
    Meenakshi NegiCommunity ManagerCorrect answer
    Community Manager
    June 23, 2021

    Hi All,

     

    Adding to the information provided above.

     

    Please refer to the information provided in the following help document: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/set-pdf-passwords-fewer-than-six-characters-long.html to set fewer than six characters long password for a PDF.

     

    Hope the information helps.

     

    Thanks,

    Meenakshi

      V
      visualeyes80
      Participant
      June 23, 2021

      Life Save! Thanks... much appreciated!

      J
      javier.striata
      Participant
      June 11, 2021

      Could you please clarify whether this new requirement impacts only PDF documents created specifically within Adobe Acrobat? Also, what happens to documents that were previously created with a 5-digit password? Will those fail to open on this version of the software?

       

      I have multiple documents sent to me from different companies that use a 5-digit ZIP code as the password in my inbox. Will I still be able to access those?

      M
      Adobe Employee
      MohdKashif17830333
      Adobe Employee
      June 11, 2021

      The limit applies to all documents on which password is being applied from inside Acrobat. It does not matter where the document was created. The limit is not enforced when applying protection via scripting. This is so as to not break any existing automated systems that apply password protection. The limit has been enforced to maintain consistency across different UI options in the application. On some UI invocation points (example File->Protect using password)  this limit was already enforced even in previous versions. Also, a longer password is difficult to break and helps users protect their content better.

       

      There will be no issue opening the PDFs that were previously protected with password (even if it was less than 6 characters).

       

      J
      Jamie5E22
      Participant
      June 14, 2021

      Is there any way to change this to allow us to use a four digit passcode? We have long time clients with systems set in place to use a specific four digit passcode and they will be extremely upset if we have to change it.

        M
        Adobe Employee
        MohdKashif17830333
        Adobe Employee
        June 10, 2021

        In the latest version of Acrobat Adobe made character limit for passwords consistent across all UI invocation points. Protect tool already had a limit of 6 characters but some entry points still allowed lower limits which was raised by some customers as an anomaly. In latest version minimum limit has been set to 6 for all invocation points.

          V
          visualeyes80
          Participant
          June 10, 2021

          Is there no option to disable the minimum 6 characters for password?

          I mean at the end of the day, it is our own document we are protecting -- and as such, I should have control on how long or short my password should be....

            J
            jakyasarAuthor
            Participating Frequently
            June 11, 2021

            I agree with you as it should be our choice on what to do with our documents

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