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.

Protect Uploads

The uploads directory is where the files of the WordPress library are stored. Unfortunelty, this directory is not protected. A person who wants to see all your library could list it instantly going to : http://yourwebsite/wp-content/uploads . This plugin will hide the content by adding an index.php file on the root of your uploads directory or by setting an htaccess which will return a 403 error (Forbidden Access).
<ul>
<li>Depending on your server setting, the htaccess option could be disabled.</li>
</ul>
New in Version 0.7.0:
<ul>
<li>Site Health checks: See at a glance — under Tools → Site Health — whether your uploads directory is protected from browsing, what server you are running, and whether any risky file types are sitting in your uploads folder.</li>
<li>WordPress 7.0 ready: Fully tested on WordPress 7.0 and PHP 8.3.</li>
</ul>
All features:
<ul>
<li>Directory Protection: Stop visitors from browsing your uploads directory (index.php or .htaccess 403).</li>
<li>Image Watermarking: Add text watermarks to your uploaded images with customizable position, opacity, and font size.</li>
<li>Right-Click Protection: Prevent users from right-clicking to download or save your images.</li>
<li>Password Protection: Secure individual media files with passwords. Multiple passwords can be set for each file with custom labels.</li>
<li>Access Logging: Track who accesses your password-protected files with detailed logs including IP address and user agent.</li>
<li>Site Health Checks: Built-in protection status tests with actionable advice.</li>
</ul>
Need more protection? <a href="https://protectuploads.com" rel="nofollow ugc">Protect Uploads Pro</a> adds image watermarks with bulk operations, expiring download links, role-based access with server-level enforcement, hotlink protection, download analytics, and a Protected Download block.
Available languages:
<ul>
<li>English</li>
<li>Français</li>
<li>Español</li>
<li>Italian (thanks to Marko97)</li>
</ul>

Do not download. The plugin has been changed not too long ago and it now infects your wordpress installation, and possible spreads itself to other sites if you are on shared hosting.

It's a virus

Protect your uploads directory. Prevent browsing, add watermarks, disable right-click, and password-protect files. For more information, visit protect …

Private Media vs Protect Uploads