When you make a video Patrons only, you expect it to stay with your patrons. On its ReedTV watch page it always has: viewers sign in with Patreon first. But the player itself could be copied into another website, and there it played for anyone. Today we're launching Strong video protection, a switch that closes that gap and others like it.
What it does
Turn it on and your Patrons-only and domain-locked videos play only where you meant them to:
- Inside your Patreon posts. Patreon decides who sees the post, so your patrons keep watching exactly as before.
- On your allowed websites, if you've set a domain lock.
- On your own ReedTV pages: your watch pages (for patrons who've signed in with Patreon), your Page, and your dashboard.
Everywhere else, a Patrons-only video shows an Unlock with Patreon card instead of playing, and a domain-locked video doesn't play at all. That includes:
- Your player copied into someone else's website or forum.
- A player link pasted straight into the browser's address bar.
- Tricks such as adding a fake "referrer" to the link.
Copied video files stop working too
For videos stored on ReedTV, the player now gets a private, short-lived pass for the video's files. It works for one video and expires after 12 hours. Without it, the files are refused, so someone who digs the video's address out of the page can't share a working link. Patrons who leave a tab open longer than that see a short "Reload to keep watching" note.
Built from real traffic
Before launching, we ran these rules alongside normal playback, recording only which websites the videos played on. They matched how Patreon embeds really work: nearly every view would have been allowed. The rest were automated link previews, plus one patron whose browser hides which site a video is on. We fixed that last case before launch, so patrons with privacy settings like that keep watching on your watch pages.
You decide
Strong video protection is off by default, and you can turn it on or off at any time. When it's off, your videos play exactly as they do today. Try it, watch a few of your Patreon posts and sites, and keep it if it fits the way you share.
Good to know
- It only affects videos that are Patrons only or have allowed domains set. Your other videos are unchanged.
- Thumbnails stay public, so your Patreon posts and link previews still show your cover image.
- Videos on your own Cloudflare Stream account (BYOA) get the stricter player rules. The private file pass applies only to videos stored on ReedTV.
- If a video should play on a site of your own, add that site to its allowed domains in Embed Settings.
- It's included in every plan at no extra cost.
Turn it on
- Open Settings.
- Under Video protection, turn on Strong video protection. It saves straight away.
- Open one of your Patreon posts and check that your video plays as usual.
There's a step-by-step walkthrough in our Guides, and answers to common questions in the FAQ.