Protect media in WordPress — PDFs, documents, eBooks, video, audio & 30+ formats. Block PDF downloads in WordPress with print blocking, watermarks, role-based access, and WooCommerce gating. One plugin to protect files from downloading and sharing. No monthly ransom.
Need a specific setup? See how to protect PDFs and documents in WordPress. Already bought it or starting with the free version? See the getting started guide.
There is something intimate about the moment someone opens your work. They are trusting you with their attention, and you, in turn, are trusting the world with something you spent months — sometimes years — putting together.
From "I have a PDF" to "my customers are reading it securely" in about four minutes. No other plugins. No Zapier. No monthly anything.
Files go to a protected directory that's denied at the server level. No direct URL, ever — even if someone guesses the filename.
Gate by WordPress role, by custom group, or by WooCommerce purchase. Combine them — "paid and active subscriber," done.
Print, download, right-click, Ctrl+S — all intercepted. Add watermarks with the reader's email so sharing gets personal, fast.
This is a fully-interactive preview of the hardened viewer. Right-click, press ⌘S, hit ⌘P. Watch what happens.
You spent six months on this. The research, the edits, the cover you redid four times. It's a real thing now — a PDF someone can hold in a tab and read on a Sunday afternoon.
And the moment they pay for it, they deserve a reading experience that respects them — not a zip file bouncing around Discord by Tuesday.
Whether you're selling a 200-page ebook, teaching a 12-week course, or running a members-only podcast — Media Guard handles it without a stack of other plugins.
Sell PDFs and EPUBs that only paying customers can open. Every page is watermarked with their email — if it ends up online, you know who to ask.
Drip lessons to students by role or group. PDFs, presentations, and videos all play in the same hardened viewer — no jumping between plugins.
Podcasts, screencasts, audiobooks, supplementary PDFs — gate it all in one library shortcode that shows each member exactly what they paid for.
We're priced against reality, not against what competitors think they can get away with. The free tier is genuinely useful. Pro unlocks everything serious creators need.
Documents, eBooks, presentations, video, audio, even archives — all protected with the same role gating and streaming engine. Pro unlocks everything beyond PDF.
PDA Gold is great, but it only handles direct-access blocking. To actually sell protected eBooks or courses, you end up stacking three or four premium plugins. Here's the math.
| Feature | Media Guard Pro | PDA Gold | The usual stack |
|---|---|---|---|
| Block direct file URLs | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Hardened PDF viewer (no download button) | ✓ | — | +$59 |
| Print & Ctrl+S blocking | ✓ | — | +$39 |
| EPUB reader built-in | ✓ | — | +$49 |
| Video & audio protection | ✓ | — | +$69 |
| Role-based access (Subscriber, custom, WooCommerce) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| WooCommerce purchase gating (HPOS) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Customer library shortcode | ✓ | — | +$79 |
| Dynamic email & date watermarks | ✓ | — | rarely |
| Access logs & audit trail | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| NGINX X-Accel streaming | ✓ | — | — |
| Total you'd actually pay | $79 / year | $119+ / year | ~$295+ / year |
Prices above are illustrative of typical single-site premium tiers as of 2026 for PDA Gold and similar plugins that'd need stacking to match parity. Not affiliated with any of them.
The stuff we get asked most often — including the honest "but what about…" questions.
Honestly? Yes. No browser plugin on earth can prevent screenshots or screen recordings — anyone who tells you otherwise is selling snake oil.
What Media Guard does do is block the easy, automatic vectors: direct downloads, print dialogs, Ctrl+S, right-click, drag-to-desktop, and the PDF.js toolbar buttons. Screenshotting an entire 200-page ebook is tedious enough that most people won't bother, and the watermark with the reader's email on every page turns any leak into an accountability trail.
Upload the file through Media Guard instead of the standard media library, then gate it by role, group, or WooCommerce purchase. That lets you protect PDF files, protect documents in WordPress, and stream them through a hardened viewer instead of exposing a raw file URL.
Yes — the core plugin (role gating, viewer, shortcodes, file manager) works on any WordPress install. WooCommerce just adds two conveniences: purchase-gated access and the [mediaguard_library] shortcode that auto-populates a customer's content library.
Your files stay protected forever — access control and the PDF viewer never stop working. What you lose are the Pro-tier conveniences: watermarks, access logs, extended file types (EPUB, video, audio, docs), and the library shortcode.
No ransomware-style lockouts. No "renew or your customers can't read their ebook." We think that's a pretty low bar to clear, but somehow the industry disagrees.
PDA Gold is focused on blocking direct file URLs — that's one layer. Media Guard does that plus gives you a hardened in-browser viewer, EPUB reader, video/audio support, dynamic watermarks, and a WooCommerce-native customer library. See the comparison table above for the detailed breakdown.
The honest summary: if all you need is direct-access blocking, PDA Gold is fine. If you're actually selling ebooks, courses, or multimedia, you'd have to stack three or four plugins to get what Media Guard does alone.
The plugin only runs on requests to protected files — your normal pages and posts are untouched. For file streaming, PHP serves 8 KB chunks (fine for most files), and Pro users on NGINX can flip on X-Accel-Redirect for zero-copy streaming that's as fast as a direct download.
Yes. Media Guard gates by WordPress roles, so anything that assigns roles or custom groups — MemberPress, Paid Memberships Pro, Restrict Content Pro, LearnDash, Ultimate Member — works out of the box. Point it at the role your plugin uses and you're done.
30-day no-questions-asked refund on Pro and Agency. If the plugin doesn't work for your setup, you email us and we send your money back. That simple.
Not yet — it's on the 2026 roadmap. If you're running a multisite network today, reach out and we'll flag you when it ships. Agency-tier licenses will include multisite support at no extra cost when it lands.
Still have questions?
hello@wpmediaguard.com