Password-protecting a link

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Any share you own can be locked with a password, so the link alone is not enough to open it. Password protection is a registered-account feature — set it in the share dialog, either when creating the link or any time later.

How it works

  • The password can be 4–128 characters. Choose it yourself and send it to the recipient through a different channel than the link.
  • A visitor opening the link sees only a password prompt — no file names, no thumbnails, not even how many files are behind it.
  • After entering the right password, the page unlocks for about half an hour in that browser tab; navigating around a shared folder does not re-ask.
  • You can change or remove the password in the share dialog at any time; the link itself stays the same.

Brute-force protection

Guessing is throttled: after 5 wrong attempts within 15 minutes, further tries from that network are blocked for a while. As the owner, you can also see a log of recent unlock attempts in the share dialog — including failed ones.

Side effects worth knowing

  • A password-protected file is also hidden from every public surface — listings, search, portals — for everyone but you. The password gates more than the link.
  • Link previews in chat apps stay generic: a locked share never leaks its file name or a thumbnail into an embedded card.
  • The password protects the share, not your account — anyone you give both the link and the password to can open it.

If the recipient forgets the password

Just tell them again — or remove the password in the share dialog and re-add a new one. The link does not change.