Private streams

Close a channel with a shared password. Only viewers who know the password get in.

What closing a channel changes#

A protected channel disappears from Browse and from the channel rail, its page renders no title, category or social preview, and its thumbnail stops being served. Anyone opening the link sees an unlock screen instead of the stream. Video and chat are both gated: there is no way to reach the feed without passing the gate, and no clip can be created from a protected channel by anyone, including you.

You and anyone on staff always get in. Clips that already existed from before the channel was closed stay public, because they were public content when they were made.

Password protection#

Set a password under Stream in your dashboard. Share the link plus the password; viewers enter it once and stay unlocked on that device for six hours. Clearing the field reopens the channel. Changing the password does not kick viewers who already unlocked, they simply need the new one after their access expires.

Chat locks within about a minute of a change. Video privacy applies from your next stream start, so set the password before going live rather than mid stream.