Password-protect a shared link.

Some links are not meant for whoever finds them. A signed contract, a client deliverable, a design that is not public yet. Password protection puts a gate in front of the file. In the link's settings, switch on the password toggle and type the password you want. From then on, anyone opening the URL has to enter it before the file loads. It works the same whether you PDF link generator, an image, or a full HTML page, because the gate sits in front of the link rather than inside the file.

The recipient experience is deliberately plain. Instead of the grey browser authentication box that looks like a security warning, they see a NudgeHost gate page with a single password field. They type the password, and the file opens in the same tab. Behind the scenes the password is run through bcrypt and stored only as a hash, so even NudgeHost cannot read it back. For the full background on the mechanism, locking a link with a password covers how the gate and the hashing fit together.

The common cases are commercial. An NDA-covered document you send to a single counterparty, a deliverable a client has not paid for yet, or a portfolio you only share your work with a recruiter once a callback is on the table. Pair the lock with link preview in Slack and iMessage you control, and the unfurl in Slack or email shows a neutral title rather than the file's contents, so the gate is not undercut by a thumbnail that gives it away.

Password protection is part of the pricing page on the Pro tier. You can change or remove the password at any time from the dashboard, which immediately changes what visitors need to enter. The honest framing is that this is a practical lock for ordinary sharing, not military-grade security, and for keeping a stray forwarded link from opening the wrong file, it does exactly that.