Release Notes
Announcements
Category | Feature | Description |
Referer hotlink protection | Address control based on the source of a request | The HTTP referer mechanism makes it possible to identify the source of a request through the referer field in the playback request header. You can add domain names to the blocklist or allowlist, based on which a CDN node will determine whether to allow or deny a playback request. |
Key hotlink protection | Access control based on URL validity | If you set a validity period for a video URL, the requested video can no longer be played after the URL expires. In this way, even if a video is hotlinked by another website, it will only be exploited for a limited time. |
| Access control based on IP count | You can specify the maximum number of viewers that can access a video URL. Devices that are not on the same private network generally have different public IPs. Therefore, you can limit the number of people who can play a video URL by specifying the maximum number of IP addresses allowed. In this way, even if a video URL is hotlinked by another website, it can only be played by a limited number of devices. |
| Access control based on playback duration | You can specify the preview duration in a video URL (for example, the first five minutes of a video) to implement preview for non-paying users. |
Use case | Description |
Protecting proprietary videos | Some video providers want to make their high-value videos playable only on their own platforms. In this case, they can use referer and key hotlink protection to prevent video links from being stolen by others and played back on other platforms. |
Preventing malicious video hosting | On UGC platforms, malicious users may upload videos irrelevant to the platform’s topic and deliver them by using the platform links, essentially using the platform as a free video hosting service. You can use hotlink protection to prevent this problem. For detailed directions, see How to Prevent Malicious Video Hosting. |
Video previews | Key hotlink protection allows you to implement video previews, so users can view a several minute-long preview of a video before they pay for the full video. |
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