Introducing Unlock with Patreon — Share Your Videos Anywhere, Only Patrons Can Watch
Your best videos are behind your Patreon paywall for a reason. Until now, that made sharing them awkward: post the watch link anywhere and anyone could watch it, or turn the watch page off and lose the link altogether. Today we're launching Unlock with Patreon, so you no longer have to choose.
Mark a video Patrons only, and its link works for everyone, but only your patrons can press play. Everyone else sees an invitation to join your Patreon.
The problem it solves
Patreon's mobile apps only play YouTube and Vimeo videos inside a post. Videos from every other host, including ReedTV, appear as a link that opens in a browser. On the web your ReedTV player shows up in the post as usual, but in the app your patrons tap a link.
That link leads to the video's watch page. Many creators turned the watch page off, or locked their videos to patreon.com, so the link couldn't be passed around. That also locked out their own patrons in the Patreon app, who saw "Video unavailable" instead of the video they paid for.
A link can't prove who is holding it. Patreon can, so now we ask Patreon.
How it works for your patrons
- They open your video's link: from a post in the Patreon app, from social media, or from anywhere else.
- They tap Unlock with Patreon and sign in with the Patreon account they use to support you.
- They tap Allow, and the video plays.
It's remembered for 30 days on that phone or browser, so after the first time your other Patrons-only videos just play. It works when patrons tap the link in the Patreon app, and in any regular browser. Patrons can sign in with their Patreon password or with Google or Apple, however they normally sign in to Patreon.
Who can watch
ReedTV follows your Patreon posts. When you connect Patreon, we find the posts that contain each video's link:
- The video is in a post for certain tiers: patrons on those tiers can watch. A video you post for Gold patrons unlocks for Gold patrons only.
- The video is in a public post: anyone who signs in with Patreon can watch.
- The video isn't in a post yet: any active paying patron of your campaign can watch, including patrons with a gifted membership to a paid tier.
- You can always watch when you sign in with your own creator account.
New and edited posts are picked up automatically: daily, whenever a patron would otherwise be turned away, or right away with Refresh in Embed Settings.
Everyone else sees which tiers can watch and a friendly Join or upgrade button that takes them to your Patreon page. After joining, they tap I've joined — check again and they're in. Memberships are re-checked about once an hour, so a patron who cancels loses access too.
Share the link anywhere
This is the part we're most excited about. A Patrons-only link is safe to post on Facebook, X, Instagram, Discord, Reddit or in your newsletter. The link preview still shows your title and thumbnail, so it works as a teaser. Your patrons watch with one tap, and everyone else gets a direct path to becoming a patron.
Set it up in two minutes
- Go to Embed Settings and click Connect Patreon in the Access Control section, then approve on Patreon.
- Turn on Make all my videos Patrons only, or choose it per video: open a video's page, tick Use custom embed settings, then Patrons only.
- Share the video's watch link wherever you like.
If you had turned the watch page off for this reason, you can switch those videos to Patrons only instead, so your app patrons can watch again.
What stays the same
- Embeds inside your posts on patreon.com keep working exactly as before. Patrons on the web don't need to sign in.
- Your existing links don't change.
- It's included on every plan at no extra cost.
Privacy
When a patron unlocks a video, Patreon tells us only their Patreon user ID and their memberships. We never see their Patreon password, email address, or payment details, and we use this information only to check access. Patrons can disconnect ReedTV in their Patreon settings at any time. The details are in our Privacy Policy.