All Wistia folders include options to grant others permission to view and interact with their contents. You can adjust the access allowed for anyone in the account, anyone with the link, and invited users.

On a folder page, the Share modal contains the following share options:

This article focuses on the "Invite collaborators" and "Share a link" options. To learn more about sharing a folder as a Channel or playlist, see this guide.

When sharing a folder link, you can set the general access level to Locked or Unlocked and toggle download access. These settings will apply to anyone outside of the account with a link to the folder.

To access these settings, navigate to a folder and click “Share.”

Then, click “Share a link" to access the Share a link modal.

You can also access this modal from the Folder details panel. Click the pencil icon under "Access".

Unlocked folders can be accessed by anyone with the link. Your content still cannot be found via search engines (like Google or Bing), but this setting makes it quick and painless to share your media with someone else.

Only logged-in users with access can open locked folders. Users must log in to view a locked folder and will be redirected if they don’t have permission.

When a folder is unlocked, you can enable or disable downloads for the entire folder with the “Allow download” toggle. When downloads are enabled, viewers can download the folder content.

To invite users to access content in a folder, click "Share," then “Invite collaborators”.

From the “Invite collaborators” window, you can add new and existing users by name, email, or group.

To add multiple users at a time, type a user’s name or email, press Return, then add another user. To remove a user, click the "x."

Inviting a user to a folder adds them to your account and counts toward your user limit. Users created within a folder default to Limited Users (meaning they can access only that folder). Learn more about account usage limits and purchasing additional users here.

When adding users, you can choose from several permissions. Read on for more details.

When setting folder permissions, you can assign users and groups either Can view or Can manage permissions:

Any user created within a folder defaults to a Limited User and can access only that folder and any other folders they've been invited to. You can also add existing Standard Users to a folder.

You can set the "Anyone in my Wistia account" setting to "No access," "Can view," or "Can manage."

Invited users are automatically added to folders when you set "Anyone in my Wistia account" to "Can view" or "Can manage."

A user's account role and their folder permissions work together. Standard Users can create new folders and can manage any folder they create. Limited Users can't create folders, but can upload, record, and edit in folders where they have "Can manage" (or the matching custom permission). For folders they didn't create, both Standard and Limited Users must be given access to that folder.

Custom permissions offer more granular access levels that you can apply to individual users or groups. These apply specifically to actions users can take in folders, and not Channels.

The available permissions are:

When adding users, you can send a personalized email notification or add the user without notifying them.

This notification lets your invited users know they’ve been added to a folder in your Wistia account. Default text appears in the subject line and message fields, but you can change them if you'd like.

After you select your desired permission and edit the email notification, click "Send." Your users will then be invited to your folder.

If you prefer not to notify the user, simply uncheck “Notify people” before clicking “Share.”

To remove a user from a folder, click "Share" and then “Invite Collaborators.” From there, locate the user and click the three dots in their row to access the “Remove” button.

Once you click “Remove,” the user will be removed from the folder instantly. If the user had a permission level that allowed them to upload, record, and edit content, anything they added, recorded, edited, or customized will remain working as expected.

Being a user in an account doesn't automatically grant access to every folder— access is set per folder. If you can view but not upload or edit, you likely have "Can view" or a limited custom permission—an Account Owner or Manager needs to grant "Can manage" (or the specific custom permission) on that folder. Newly invited users default to Limited User, with access only to that folder.

If external viewers hit a login page, this means the folder is locked—locked folders require an invited, logged-in user to view them. To share with anyone via a link, set the folder to Unlocked in the Share a link modal, which you can access from the Share dropdown menu.

"Allow download" controls what people outside your account see. If you're logged in as an Account Owner, Manager, or a user with Can manage or Download permission, you'll still see the Download button. To check what viewers see, open the link in an incognito or private window, or log out.

The "Allow download" setting applies to everyone with the link and cannot be turned on for a single viewer. To give one person download access, invite them to the folder (Share > Invite collaborators) with "Can manage" or the Download custom permission. They'll need to log in to download.

A user can obtain access to a folder in more than one way: through an email invitation, through a group, or through "Anyone in my Wistia account." If they still have access after you remove them, check whether the folder is shared with one of their groups or with the whole account.