I have put together some content, which I wish to share, but very selectively so. What is the lowest cost option where I can upload a video where I can control who can view the content? Preferably also make it difficult to download and share. Your advice is welcome.
The obvious answer is private videos on YouTube. Is there some reason you’ve rejected that option?
Ignorance, mainly. I only know youtube as a very open source of videos. Secondarily, I know videos on youtube can fairly easily be downloaded and copy, and ideally I’d like thatvto be more difficult.
On YouTube, you can make videos unlisted, so that only people you share the URL with can see it. But they can always share and/or download it.
For a bit of money ($12/mo?) you can put it on Vimeo instead, where you can limit sharing by password, or with certain people. You can also “disable” downloads. I say “disable” because it just hides the download option, but people can still pirate it if they try hard enough (such as with a screen recording). In general, if you want better protection than that you’re going to have to use a DRM solution, and those are hit and miss.
If you are a developer (or want to hire one) you can also use Cloudflare Stream, which includes functionality to make a unique signed URL for every person you want, that is only valid for a set duration.
But, again, none of these are foolproof. Anybody can still pirate your video if they try hard enough. They just make casual drive-by downloads less likely.
Right, if you can play a file from any site, you can download it, if you’re willing to make a little effort.