How do I control who can watch my video?

Short answer

Open the video’s Settings and go to Access & privacy. Under Privacy, choose Password to require one or more passwords, or Access list to allow only the people on a list. You can also make the video play only when embedded, and only on domains you approve.

How to do it

1. Open the video and select Settings.
2. Go to Access & privacy.
3. Under Privacy, select Password.
4. Type a password and select Add Password. Add more passwords if different groups need their own.
5. Open the share link in a private window. You see Password required. Enter the password and check that the video plays.

The three privacy options

• Link: anybody with the link can view. This is the default.
• Password: only people with a password can view. Passwords must match exactly, including upper and lower case. To remove a password, select it in the list.
• Access list: only people on your list can view. The viewer enters their email and a code.

Set up an access list

Use an access list when each person needs their own access, or when you want to know exactly who watched.

• Go to Organization, then Access Lists, and create a list. You can also select New Access List from the video’s privacy setting.
• Select Add Person and enter an email, a name, and an optional passcode. To add many people, select Upload CSV with email, name and passcode in the first three columns.
• In the video’s Access & privacy settings, select Access list and choose the list.
• Viewers see Authentication required and enter their email and code. If a person has no passcode, their email is enough.
• Views through an access list are recorded with the person’s email and name.

Limit where the video plays

• Embed only: in the video’s Settings under Advanced, turn on Embed only. The share link stops working and the video plays only when embedded in a page.
• Allowed embed domains: limit which websites can embed your videos. See restrict embed domains.
• Use both together to keep a video on your own site, and add a password or access list for content that must stay private.

Good to know

• You can preview the video in the editor without the password. Test the share link in a private window to see what viewers see.
• A password is shared by everyone who has it. A forwarded password works for anyone. Use an access list if that is a risk.
• Password protection controls who can open the video. It does not add encryption or stop screen recording.

Go further

• Video protection tutorial
• Organization tutorial