How to Protect Private Recordings on NGINX in Presto Capture

Private recordings saved to your Media Library live in Presto Player’s protected folder. On most servers, a small file in that folder blocks anyone who tries to open a video by its direct link. NGINX servers ignore that file, so the videos stay open to anyone who has the link until your host adds one rule.

Applies to: Presto Capture 1.0.0 and above.

Does This Affect You?

Only if all three are true:

• Your site runs on NGINX.
• You save recordings to the WordPress Media Library.
• You set those recordings to Private.

Bunny.net recordings and public recordings aren’t affected.

The Notice You’ll See

On NGINX sites, Presto Capture shows this notice in your dashboard:

Your private recordings can still be opened by link

[Screenshot: NGINX notice in the Presto Capture admin]

How to Fix It

1. Click See how to add the rule in the notice.
2. Send the rule from that guide to your hosting provider, and ask them to add it to your server settings.
3. Test it once they confirm. Open a private recording’s file link in a private browser window. You should see an error instead of the video.
4. Close the notice. Presto Capture won’t show it again.

The full rule and steps are in the Presto Player guide: Protecting videos with NGINX.

Tip: Most hosts add the rule within a day. Until then, switch sensitive recorders to Bunny.net, which protects private videos with signed links.

Once the rule is in place, private recordings on your NGINX site play only for logged-in users, like everywhere else.

If you have any questions or need further help, feel free to reach out to our support team. We’re always happy to help!