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Download protection

How paid and private videos are protected from direct links and scraping, and what a buyer can and cannot do.

Last updated

On this page
  1. Streaming only, by default
  2. Downloads for buyers
  3. What this does not do

Streaming only, by default

Videos are delivered as HLS segments through a route that checks every single request:

  • a short-lived, signed token per video and browser session,
  • the session of the viewer (owner, buyer, or public video),
  • the page the request comes from (requests from other sites are refused),
  • the creator's geoblocking.

Direct links to video or image files do not work – the media folders are not served statically. Copying a playback URL into another browser or sharing it yields an error once the token expires.

Downloads for buyers

A creator can allow downloads per video. Then – and only then – buyers see a download button that serves the original file. Without that option a video is stream-only.

What this does not do

Screen recording cannot be prevented by any platform. What the protection removes is the easy path: scraped links, hotlinking, shared file URLs. If you find your content redistributed elsewhere, see Content rules & reporting.

Related

Public, unlisted & privateThe three access levels for videos and images, how they combine with "for sale", and who can see what.Read Videos, shorts & streaming qualityHow the video pages work – adaptive HD streaming, shorts, the sidebar, view counts and what the lock on a video means.Read