FileOpen

Enterprise digital rights management for secure document sharing and control

Updated August 11, 2026

FileOpen Overview

FileOpen is a document rights management system for organizations that need to share sensitive PDFs, Office files, and web documents while keeping control after distribution.

Administrators can set rules for viewing, printing, copying, watermarks, expiration, and revocation. It supports several authentication methods and browser viewing, which makes it useful for secure publishing, licensed content, and controlled digital lending.

Key Features

  • Document Encryption: Encrypt PDFs, Microsoft Office, and web files using enterprise-grade DRM.
  • Granular Access Controls: Define policies for viewing, printing, copying, and expiration.
  • Password-Free Authentication: Authenticate users via email, SSO, SAML, device, or domain.
  • Dynamic Watermarking: Apply user-specific watermarks to deter unauthorized sharing.
  • Access Revocation: Instantly revoke document access even after files are distributed.
  • BrowserUX Viewer: View protected documents directly in modern browsers without plugins.
  • Secure Annotations: Enable controlled review and markup on protected documents.
  • Controlled Digital Lending: Support library CDL use cases with metering and expiration.

Pricing

Plan Price Featured
Basic / Pro / Enterprise Custom quote DRM, encryption, viewer, watermarking, policy, authentication, and deployment options

Basic, Pro and Enterprise deployments require a quote. FileOpen says the amount depends on administrators, end users, document volume and authentication requests.

Pricing source: FileOpen subscription plans

Pros

Compared with Why this product may fit better
Vitrium FileOpen can protect PDF, Office and web documents and can be deployed in the cloud or on premises. That flexibility helps organizations that cannot move every policy decision into Vitrium's hosted workflow.
Locklizard FileOpen supports several authentication paths, including email, domain and SAML-based access. Locklizard is more prescriptive, while FileOpen can fit a publisher's existing identity and delivery process.
Digify FileOpen keeps controls such as expiry, printing rules and watermarks attached to distributed documents. Digify is easier to understand as a secure link or data room, but FileOpen is better suited to protected publications that leave a portal.

Cons

Compared with Where this product may fall short
Vitrium Vitrium presents a more self-contained secure content portal with analytics and browser delivery. FileOpen can involve viewer compatibility and a more technical policy setup, which raises support work for external readers.
Locklizard Locklizard places strong emphasis on offline use and tightly controlled local viewers. A buyer with strict offline distribution rules should test FileOpen carefully instead of assuming both DRM systems behave the same way.
Digify Digify offers a simpler data-room experience for sharing, tracking and revoking deal documents. FileOpen is harder to buy and deploy when the real need is a short-lived secure workspace rather than persistent document DRM.

Reviews

  • 💬Apple App Store reviews: The FileOpen PDF Viewer mobile app is rated 1.0/5 from only four ratings. The tiny sample reports permission-server errors, pages that must be opened one at a time and support tickets that did not receive the promised response.
  • Reddit r/linuxquestions discussion: A Linux Mint user could enter the document password but then hit a missing libgtkembedmoz error in an old Adobe-based FileOpen route. The post is useful evidence of legacy Linux compatibility friction, not a test of the current BrowserUX viewer.
  • 💬SumatraPDF GitHub discussion: Participants explain that installing a FileOpen component does not make a protected PDF work in every reader because access still depends on publisher permission and supported viewer code. This is a compatibility warning rather than a product rating.