Perfect 👍
Here’s the English version, written in a natural, human blog tone, not corporate, not AI-ish, and easy to read for engineers and platform owners alike.

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How to Protect Your Videos from Downloading Even If Someone Tries to Steal Them

This is a very important topic, and a lot of people fall into the same trap.
So let’s talk about it in a simple, realistic way, without complicated theory.

This article works whether you’re:

• a developer

• a course creator

• or the owner of an online learning platform

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If you have:

• an educational platform

• online courses

• paid video content

• or any media you don’t want leaving your system

you’ve probably asked yourself this question before:

“Can someone download the video even if I don’t provide a download button?”

The slightly painful answer is:
Yes… if the video is set up the wrong way, it can be downloaded very easily.

Let’s break this down from the beginning.

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The problem is not the download button

Many people think the issue is the browser’s download button.

That’s not true.

Any video served as:

• a direct MP4 file

• or a fixed public link

can be downloaded in seconds, even without special tools.

The real problem starts with how the video is delivered.

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The first correct step: use HLS

The safest common way to stream videos today is:

🎥 HLS (HTTP Live Streaming)

With HLS, the video is not a single file.

Instead, it’s split into:

• small segments

• usually 5 or 10 seconds each

So instead of this:

video.mp4

you get:

index.m3u8
segment1.ts
segment2.ts
segment3.ts

The browser requests these pieces one by one.

This alone already makes downloading harder.

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But be careful… HLS alone is not protection

Some people think:

“I’m using HLS, so my videos are secure now.”

Unfortunately, no ❌

Because:

• anyone can copy the .m3u8 file

• use tools like ffmpeg

• and rebuild the full video again

So yes, you made it harder
but the door is still open.

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The most important rule: never expose S3 directly

One of the biggest mistakes you’ll ever see is:

S3 Public Read 😐

If your videos are public on S3, everything else becomes useless.

The correct setup is:

✅ S3 completely private
✅ Only CloudFront can access it

That means:

• no direct access to S3

• CloudFront becomes the only gateway

This is done using Origin Access Control (OAC).

At that point, even if someone finds the file path, access is instantly denied.

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So… are the videos secure now?

Not yet 😄
But we’re getting close.

Now users can watch videos through CloudFront.

The remaining problem:

• the URL can be shared

• or opened from another device

And that’s where the next layer comes in.

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Signed URLs and Signed Cookies

CloudFront gives you a very powerful feature.

You can say:

• this video works

• for this user only

• for 5 minutes, for example

After that, the link expires.

Even if someone copies it and shares it:
→ it simply won’t work.

This step makes a massive difference in real-world protection.

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Is that enough?

Almost… but there’s always someone stubborn 😅

Some users:

• record the screen

• or use advanced capture tools

This is a higher level of abuse.

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The highest level of protection: DRM

If your content really matters
and your courses are paid
then you should seriously consider:

🔐 DRM (Digital Rights Management)

Such as:

• Widevine (Google)

• FairPlay (Apple)

• PlayReady (Microsoft)

With DRM:

• the video is encrypted

• it can only be decrypted inside the player

• playback keys are generated per session

Even if someone downloads the files:
→ they remain completely useless.

This is currently the strongest protection available.

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The full professional setup

If you want a serious, production-level system:

1️⃣ Video encoded as HLS
2️⃣ Private S3 bucket
3️⃣ CloudFront with OAC
4️⃣ Signed URLs or Signed Cookies
5️⃣ User-based access tokens
6️⃣ DRM encoding for paid content

This is the same model used by:

• educational platforms

• streaming services

• paid course systems

• large companies

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Let’s be honest

❗ There is no 100% protection
Not even Netflix has 100%.

But the difference is:

• no direct downloading

• no link sharing

• piracy becomes expensive and difficult

• normal users get a smooth experience

And that’s the real goal.

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Final thoughts

If your videos are served as direct MP4 files,
you’re basically leaving the door open.

But if you combine:

• HLS

• CloudFront

• Private S3

• Signed URLs

• DRM

you’re not just protecting a video…

you’re protecting your entire business.

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If you want to understand this topic in a more practical way and see how it works in real life, this explanation is very helpful:
What is DRM and how does it protect your videos?

The video explains clearly how systems like Widevine and FairPlay secure video content, how encryption works, and why downloading or sharing becomes extremely difficult