Password-gated portals

How password-gated access works

A password-gated portal is accessible to anyone who has the URL and the correct password. No boveDAM account is required. This makes it the right mode for one-off deliveries, pitches to prospective clients, and situations where asking someone to create an account would add unnecessary friction.

The tradeoff is control: you cannot revoke access for a specific individual without resetting the password for everyone. If you need per-person access control, use a login-gated portal instead.

Setting and sharing the password

To set a password, open Portal settings → Visibility, enable password protection, and enter your chosen password. Click Save. From that point on, anyone opening the portal URL will see a password prompt before the portal loads.

Share the password with your recipient out-of-band — by email, message, or however you communicate with them. boveDAM does not send the password to anyone on your behalf. Keep this in mind: if the password is shared carelessly, anyone who receives it can access the portal.

How boveDAM stores passwords. The password is stored as a bcrypt hash. The plaintext is never saved and cannot be retrieved — not by you, not by boveDAM support. If you forget the password, you must set a new one.

Resetting the password

To change the portal password, go back to Portal settings → Visibility and enter a new value. Saving the new password immediately invalidates the old one.

Any client currently viewing the portal with the old password is not actively ejected mid-session, but the next time they try to open the portal URL — for example, after closing the tab and returning later — they will be prompted to enter the new password.

This means a password reset is an effective way to cut off access. If a previous client should no longer see your portal, reset the password and share the new one only with the people who should still have access.

When to use password-gated vs login-gated

Use password-gated when:

• The recipient does not have a boveDAM account and creating one is too much to ask
• You are sharing a one-off deliverable with a client after a project ends
• You are sending a pitch or proposal to a new prospect
• Speed matters more than granular per-person control

Use login-gated when:

• The client has an ongoing relationship with your team
• The portal contains unreleased or sensitive brand work
• You need to be certain only named individuals can access the contents

For a full comparison, see Login-gated portals.