Protection
Add visible attribution to protected video
Layer viewer attribution and visible deterrence over protected playback. Customer-supplied subscriber identifiers can connect a captured copy to its viewing session, while Screen Shield adds a moving pattern over the picture.
Key requests
- app.yourcompany.com
- ✓ key issued — origin allowed
- copied-embed.example.net
- ✕ refused — not on the allowlist
The problem
Make redistributed video attributable
The damage is not only the copy. It is that nothing follows from finding it, so the same thing happens again next month.
Without control
A leak with nothing on it
A recording appears somewhere it should not be. It looks exactly like every other copy, so there is nothing to act on.
- No way to tell which account or session the capture came from.
- No basis for a conversation with the person responsible.
- No deterrent for anyone else, because leaking carried no risk.
- The same exposure remains open after you have taken the copy down.
On your own terms
A leak carrying its own provenance
The recording shows an identifier belonging to the session that played it, and the overlay is visibly part of the picture.
- A subscriber ID or client IP visible in the captured footage.
- A specific account to raise it with, rather than a general suspicion.
- Viewers who can see their own identifier on screen behave differently.
- A copy that is obviously second-hand is worth less to redistribute.
The mechanism
Two separate overlays, doing two different jobs
Attribution and deterrence are two different purchases, and choosing between them — or running both — is the decision this page exists for.
- Viewer watermark — attributionSubscriber ID · client IP
- When the option is enabled and the data is available, playback can overlay an account-scoped subscriber identifier (or user key) and/or the client IP address, which is what makes a captured recording point back at a session. Attribution follows identity, so it works best behind the member or subscriber session you already run; where a session carries no identity data, nothing is invented in its place.
- Screen Shield — deterrenceMoving pattern
- A moving low-opacity pattern drawn over the video, intended as capture deterrence: it makes a recording visibly degraded and obviously copied, so a capture is worth less to redistribute than the original. It is deterrence and attribution rather than hardware DRM. The pattern is visible to everyone watching by design, which is the trade you are buying, so choose the content where that is worth it.
- Rendered at playback, over the playerNo re-encode
- Both are drawn by the player at playback time rather than burned into your stored video. Your source file and your other embeds are unaffected, and turning an overlay off does not require re-processing the library.
- Entitlement-gatedPer plan
- Dynamic and IP watermarking are entitled on Pro and Enterprise plans by default. The pricing page renders the current inclusions; confirm yours before a launch depends on either.
The workflow
Getting attribution that actually works
The first step is the one people skip, and it is the one that decides whether any of this functions.
- 01
Make sure your viewers are identified
- 02
Confirm entitlement for your plan
- 03
Choose which overlay each project needs
- 04
Look at it on real content
- 05
Decide what you will do with a hit
Where it fits
Choose content where attribution adds value
Attribution pays for itself where the audience is identified and a leak would change what you do next.
Paid courses and cohorts
Members are signed in, so identifiers exist. Sharing a login is the realistic leak, and a visible subscriber ID is a direct answer to it.
Internal and confidential video
A board briefing or an all-hands has a known, authenticated audience. Attribution here makes forwarding something an individual has to own.
Pre-release and screener copies
The classic case, and the one the technique was invented for: a small number of named recipients, each copy identifiable.
Member-only launches
When early-access viewers enter through identified member sessions, an on-screen identifier adds accountability while you keep the launch inside a controlled audience.
Questions
Questions about watermarking
What buyers ask before turning an overlay on for a paid library.
What makes a watermark “dynamic”?
A static watermark shows the same logo or text to everyone, so it identifies the publisher. A dynamic watermark shows something specific to the playback session — a subscriber identifier or client IP — so it identifies the viewing session as well. That is what turns a leaked copy from anonymous into attributable.
Can it display my own viewer information?
It can overlay the account-scoped subscriber identifier or user key that your session already carries, and the client IP. It shows what is available server-side; it does not accept arbitrary text invented in the browser, and it does not manufacture a value when the session has none.
What happens for a viewer who is not signed in?
For an anonymous viewer no identifier is available, so none is shown and none is fabricated. Attribution follows identity, which is why the strongest place for it is content already behind the member or subscriber session you run — every playback there carries something to show. Client IP may still be available, and it identifies a network rather than a person.
Does it affect playback quality?
Your stored video is untouched — the overlay is drawn by the player at playback, so nothing is re-encoded and turning it off needs no re-processing. A low-opacity moving pattern is visible by design, so view it on your own content and decide whether the trade suits that material.
Can the watermark be removed?
It is a visible deterrent and an attribution aid rather than forensic marking, so cropping, re-encoding or filming the screen at an angle can degrade it. That still leaves most casual redistribution carrying an identifier, which is where it does its work.
Is it available on my plan?
Dynamic and IP watermarking are entitled on Pro and Enterprise plans by default, and the pricing page renders the current inclusions. Ask us to confirm your entitlement in writing when a launch depends on it.
See it on your own video before you commit
Enable an overlay on a real file and look at it on the devices your audience uses. If the visible trade is worth the attribution, you will know immediately.