> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.mottostreaming.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Hotlink prevention

> Video protection on streams through IP address binding

## Introduction

When streaming into Motto without any additional video protection rules configured, your stream will be exposed over
the internet via a static URL, e.g. `https://example.com/master.m3u8`. Such a static URL is convenient when wanting to
distribute your stream to a large audience easily, but it also has clear downsides. What if your content is only meant for a
specific group of end-users, e.g. ones that have paid for access? While we offer a feature for entitlement checking,
you may also want to disallow end-users to share the stream URLs with others, beyond the confines of your platform (i.e. hotlinking).

To prevent abuse, the *hotlink prevention* feature generates a unique stream URL for each individual end-user based on their IP
address. When they share this with others on a different network, the stream will simply not play.

## Get Started

You can get started using the Motto Studio, which we recommend for non-technical users. Alternatively, you may get started by using the Motto API.

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Via the Studio">
    To enable hotlink prevention, first navigate to the "Settings" section in the Motto Studio, and select the "Video protection" tab.
    Here you can create a new ruleset by clicking the "New ruleset" button, or edit an existing ruleset if you are
    already applying other protection measures to the same content.

    In the creation form, you can check the option to enable hotlink prevention.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Via the API">
    To enable hotlink prevention, you must [create a video protection ruleset](/reference/studio-api/streaming/video-protection/v1/create-ruleset) with the
    `disallow_hotlinking` property set to `true`.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

Make sure to apply the ruleset to the content you wish to protect by selecting the appropriate target(s).
For more information, see [selecting a target](/guides/streaming/video-protection/target-selection).

<Tip>
  You may change these settings at any time, even while a stream is already live. New rules will take roughly one minute to lodge.
  However, users already viewing your stream may not be affected until they reload the page or app.
</Tip>

### Impact

Once this feature has been turned on, end users switching between IP addresses will may no longer be able to load your stream when attempting to play it.
Instead, the stream resource will throw a 4xx HTTP status code.

<Note>
  This method of hotlink prevention may cause issues for some users, e.g. ones on corporate networks, as those may internally
  rotate IP addresses within a single viewing session.
</Note>

## Next Steps

Have a look at any of the other rights protection features that Motto offers:

* [Geo-blocking](/guides/streaming/video-protection/geo-blocking)
* [VPN blocking](/guides/streaming/video-protection/vpn-blocking)
* [domain pinning](/guides/streaming/video-protection/domain-pinning)
* [registration walls](/guides/streaming/video-protection/registration-walls)
* [entitlement verification](/guides/streaming/video-protection/other)
* [DRM](/guides/streaming/video-protection/drm)