PDFs getting error message "This PDF is Protected" on SharePoint

Question

Hello,

We have started to get the problem that any of the PDFs that we create cant be shown as soon as they are saved on our SharePoint site.

They work if we share them as files on an email but the second we save them in our document library for all of our employees to see on our SharePoint hub we get that the PDF is protected and it sends us to open in browser, which gives us the same problem, and to a link to download different readers. The same document had no problem 3 weeks ago.

We have tried with Chrome, Safari and Edge and the same problem happens (I have cleared my cache on all the browsers as well)

Answer 1

This issue is caused by Information Rights Management (IRM) has been applied to this document library.

When you download a PDF file from an IRM-protected library, Microsoft 365 creates a protected PDF file. The file's extension won't change, but the file is protected. To view this file you'll need the Azure Information Protection viewer, the full Azure Information Protection client, or another application that supports viewing protected PDF files.

References about Information Rights Management (IRM):

Set up Information Rights Management (IRM) in SharePoint admin center

Apply Information Rights Management (IRM) to a list or library

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