Password-protected links: only the people you choose get in
Add a password to any URLHop short link or QR code. Visitors see a simple screen asking for it; with the right password, they go straight to the destination. Use it for photo albums, course materials, client files and team documents. Try it free for 30 days, no credit card.
Not every link is for everyone
Links travel. They get forwarded in group chats, show up in screenshots, and someone snaps a photo of the QR code on the wall. For things meant for a few people, like wedding photos, a paid course or a company handbook, that's a problem. With a password, the link may still reach the wrong people, but it only opens for those who know the password.
What visitors see
Anyone who opens the link or scans the QR code sees a URLHop screen with a padlock and the message "This link is password protected", in English, Portuguese or Spanish depending on their device's language. With the right password, they go straight to the destination. With the wrong one, they can try again. The password is asked on every visit, and URLHop only keeps a scrambled version of it (a hash), never the password itself.
Real-world examples
Situations where a link that's too open becomes a headache.
Who uses it, and what happens
- A wedding photographer hands the couple a card with the gallery's QR code and the password written by hand. The couple shares it with family, and anyone who only saw the link in a group chat can't open it.
- A speaker shows the slides' QR code on the last screen and says the password out loud. Only people who were in the room can download the deck.
- A nutritionist or personal trainer sends each client's plan as a PDF through a password-protected link. When a client stops, they change the password and tell only the clients who stay.
- A language school prints the QR code for recorded lessons in its workbooks and changes the password every term, with no reprinting.
- A company puts a QR code for its staff handbook on the break room wall. A visitor who photographs the wall can't get in.
- A musician sends an album preview to journalists before release. If the link leaks, they change the password and send the new one only to the people who need it.
How to set it up on URLHop
You can protect a new link or one you've already shared.
Step by step
- Create a short link to whatever you want to protect, like a photo folder or a course file, or open a link you already use.
- Type a password of at least 4 characters in the Link password field and save.
- Download the QR code or copy the link, and share the password another way: out loud, by message or on a separate card.
- Before you share it, open the link in a private window to see the password screen the way your audience will.
- To change the password, type a new one in the same field. To open the link to everyone, click Remove password.
What the password protects, and what it doesn't
The password protects the URLHop short link. It doesn't lock the destination file: anyone who already has the final address, like a direct Google Drive folder link, can open it without going through URLHop. For sensitive material, also turn on the protection offered by the service where the file lives. And remember that anyone who knows the password can pass it on. If that happens, change it and tell only the people who should keep access.
Which plan includes it
Password-protected links are on the Pro plan and above. Every new account starts with 30 days of Pro free, no credit card, so you can try it today. If your account goes back to Free, the passwords you've already set keep working, because URLHop never makes a link you protected public. You just can't add passwords to other links until you're back on Pro.