Password-protect a photo

The short answer

On AnonShot, tick the password option when uploading: the recipient must enter that password to see the photo. The password is never stored in clear text.

How it works

When a photo is protected, the link alone is not enough: the person sees an entry page and can only display the image after entering the correct password. This lets you share the link and the password through two different channels (for example the link by email, the password by text message).

Always send the password through a channel separate from the link: that is what makes the protection genuinely useful.

The most useful side effect

A password obviously filters who opens the photo. But it does a second job, less known and often more decisive: it neutralises automatic previews.

When you paste a link into a messaging app or a social network, the service fetches the page onto its own servers to render a thumbnail. On an unprotected link, that thumbnail reveals the image to the whole thread, and can even consume the single open of a one-time link before your recipient has clicked.

With a password, the preview bot only meets an entry page. It has nothing to display, and the image stays intact for the right person.

Choosing and sending the password

The protection is only worth as much as the channel carrying the code.

• Never send the link and the password in the same message: that protects nothing at all.
• Use two separate channels — the link by email, the code by text or spoken aloud.
• Avoid a password you use elsewhere: it travels in clear text through a conversation that will stay archived.
• Prefer something short but unguessable, rather than a birth date or a first name.

Combine with self-destruct

For maximum discretion, pair the password with self-destruct: the photo is both protected on opening and destroyed after the first view.

Keep in mind what none of these protections can do. Once the image is on the recipient's screen, it can be screenshotted or saved. The password controls access, self-destruct controls duration; the rest comes down to trust.