Alexandre Froger

Ever wanted to make your media truely private? Make sure images, videos and other files are only accessible to chosen roles, or cannot be hotlinked, with permissions specifically set per item.
This plugin adds the following major features to WordPress:
<ul>
<li>Media Privacy: Lock access to items in the Media Library by preventing hotlinks only or by limiting access to files to selected user roles.</li>
<li>User-friendly forbidden handler: Images set to private do not break on the frontend. Instead, they are replaced by a simple access denied SVG picture – the forbidden handler can be replaced using the filter hooks <code>pvtmed_forbidden_response_content</code> (<code>apply_filters( 'pvtmed_forbidden_response_content', $forbidden_response_content, $file );</code>) and <code>pvtmed_forbidden_mimetype</code> (<code>apply_filters( 'pvtmed_forbidden_mimetype', 'image/svg+xml' );</code>).</li>
<li>Customizable for more granularity: Restricted media will be checked for autorization – plugin developers can hook into the <code>pvtmed_is_authorized</code> filter (<code>apply_filters( 'pvtmed_is_authorized', $authorized, $attachment_id );</code>) to apply more complex conditions for authorization.</li>
<li>Optimized private media delivery: Files with access restriction are served using streams without loading the file entirely in memory before delivery, and WordPress files are loaded as lightly as possible for an optimised server memory usage.</li>
<li>Fallbacks: Restricted files are kept in an alternate <code>wp-content/pvtmed-uploads</code> folder (or equivalent if <code>WP_CONTENT_DIR</code> is not the default) ; fallbacks are in place to make sure:
<ul>
<li>moving a media to private does not break previously embedded media (javascript dynamic fallback with notice on post edit screen – Classic Editor only). </li>
<li>deactivating the plugin does not break previously embedded media (database update). </li>
<li>deleting the plugin does not break previously embedded media (database update). </li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
A <a href="https://codex.wordpress.org/Must_Use_Plugins" rel="nofollow ugc">Must Use Plugin</a> <code>pvtmed-endpoint-optimizer.php</code> is installed automatically to make sure WordPress is loaded as lightly as possible when requesting restricted media items. Developers can safely edit it to enable their plugin to execute during such request if necessary.
The media privacy policy is set per media item – therefore, this plugin is not a replacement for general image hotlink prevention plugins, but is ideal for anyone looking for preventing direct links to files depending on specific conditions.

Private Media

Add access restrictions to specific items of the WordPress Media Library.

erolsk8

Simon Kane

This plugin allows you to examine all files within the <code>uploads</code> directory to determine which ones are present in the Media Library and which ones are just sitting there unused. You can then choose the files you want to import into the database, thereby including them in the Media Library.
Moreover, you can utilize FTP to upload files directly to the <code>uploads</code> directory and subsequently add these files to the Media Library avoiding any file size limitations.
<h4>Disclaimers</h4>
<ol>
<li>
“1 file first” 
Please try to import only one file first – to see if it works as you expected.
</li>
<li>
“All at once” 
This plugin is designed for scanning, selecting, and importing all files at once. However, based on your server’s configuration, memory, and timeout challenges may arise with extensive file quantities. To mitigate this, a newly revamped <a href="https://mediasyncplugin.com/?utm_source=readme&utm_medium=base_plugin&utm_campaign=aao" rel="nofollow ugc">pro version</a> employs incremental directory scans to effectively tackle these issues.
</li>
<li>
“Your setup is unique” 
Please be aware that every WordPress installation is unique, and there may be instances where this plugin does not function as expected. Should this occur, we recommend enabling the debugging feature in the plugin’s settings to identify the issue. After investigating, kindly provide a detailed description of your findings in the Support section (or <a href="https://users.freemius.com/store/6428/support" rel="nofollow ugc">here</a> if you’re using pro version). The more comprehensive the details, the higher the likelihood of resolving the problem effectively.
</li>
</ol>
<h4>Ignored files</h4>
<ul>
<li>various hidden files (.DS_Store, .htaccess),</li>
<li>WP generated thumbnails (files ending with for example -100×100.jpg),</li>
<li>WP generated scaled images (files ending with -scaled),</li>
<li>optimized .webp versions of original images (.jpg.webp),</li>
<li>retina thumbnails (-100×100@2x.jpg).</li>
</ul>
These can be modified and enhanced using the new advanced filters available in the <a href="https://mediasyncplugin.com/?utm_source=readme&utm_medium=base_plugin&utm_campaign=df" rel="nofollow ugc">pro version</a>.
<h4>Media Sync Pro features</h4>
<ul>
<li>Revised incremental scan: Allows scanning and importing unlimited number of files.</li>
<li>Quick single directory rescan: Easily rescan one directory to find new files or apply a different filter without reloading the whole page.</li>
<li>Advanced filters: Find any file by customizing all default filters, search for a specific file type (images, videos, etc.), skip by tailor-made rules, or enter any custom pattern.</li>
<li>Schedule automatic imports: Select a desired interval and let the plugin automatically import any new files it finds.</li>
<li>Import logs: View the history of manual or scheduled imports.</li>
<li>Limit plugin access: Limit plugin access to a specific role.</li>
</ul>
Get <a href="https://mediasyncplugin.com/?utm_source=readme&utm_medium=base_plugin&utm_campaign=pfl" rel="nofollow ugc">pro version here</a>.

Media Sync

The settings are easy to understand. I love that you can drill down and pick a specific folder to see the media there, and that you can do a dry run without saving changes. It's really well-thought-out, and perfect if you have the specific need to import media from the filesystem into new records in the database. 

Works perfectly

I love how it just works with little to no configuration

It just works


Needed a quick import after FTP upload. Worked as described. Thanks.


Worked perfectly!


Easy to set up and re-import of all media files possible. 


Works great


I needed to add some PDFs to the Media Library that were uploaded via FTP, without changing their location. This plugin did that. 👍


Did exactly what I needed!

Simple plugin to scan "uploads" directory and bring those files into Media Library.

Private Media vs Media Sync