Video security for Content Links on Custom HTML websites
This guide is about video security. If you're looking for instructions about uploading and adding video Content Links to your website, please read this guide instead.
Before Adding Video Content Links
In MemberSpace we allow you to add videos as Content Links using Vimeo, Wistia, or YouTube as the host.
But before you start adding video Content Links in MemberSpace, we recommend you first configure some security settings with your video host.
Video that appears on any website is always prone to nefarious copying and sharing (e.g. someone could simply be recording their screen while watching your video). Hollywood hasn't even figured out a solution to the problem yet, so it's just a reality right now.
The good news is the number of people who would be nefarious with your video content is likely much lower than you think, and the vast majority of people will act honestly.
All that being said, we do recommend you follow the guidelines we lay out below for keeping your video content more secure (e.g. making it harder and more annoying to copy and share illegally).
Vimeo Security
We recommend you set up Domain Level Privacy with Vimeo so your video(s) can only be played on specific domains. The domains you should allow are your live website (e.g. example.com) and admin.memberspace.com.
We also recommend you choose to not allow people to watch your video on Vimeo even if they have the direct link somehow (by enabling the Hide this video from vimeo.com privacy setting).
So the only place your video would be watchable would be on your MemberSpace-protected website. You would also need to be subscribed to Vimeo Plus to get these security features.
When adding Vimeo videos as Content Links, here is an example of the URL format:
Wistia Security
We recommend you set up Domain Restrictions with Wistia so your video(s) can only be played on specific domains. The domains you should allow are your live website (e.g. example.com) and admin.memberspace.com.
You can also optionally set a password on every Wistia video you protect with MemberSpace. Here are instructions on how to do this in Wistia. We recommend you use the same password for all your videos to make the process simpler for your members.
You could output the password text somewhere on the page where the Content Link videos are embedded on your site or send members the password via an email (such as the 'Welcome Email' they receive via MemberSpace).
When adding Wistia videos as Content Links, here is an example of the URL format:
YouTube Security
YouTube has the fewest security options (compared to Vimeo or Wistia).
We recommend with any YouTube videos you are protecting via MemberSpace that you change their Privacy Setting to 'Unlisted' in YouTube.
Making a video Unlisted means that anyone who has the link to the video can view it (and share it with anyone else). Unlisted videos don't show to viewers in the Videos tab of your YouTube channel page, and they don't show up in YouTube's search results unless someone adds your unlisted video to a public playlist.
However, when viewing your YouTube video as a Content Link, there will still be the YouTube logo in the corner of the video which when clicked will bring the user to the direct link of the video. And as mentioned, that link can be shared or sent to anyone else for viewing.
When adding YouTube videos as Content Links, here is an example of the URL format:
