Dropbox is a good choice for securing files, but security remains a significant concern for some Dropbox users. To make your folders more secure, you do have the ability to password protect them, allowing you to grant access only to those with the password.
This is recommended if you want to keep your data safe. In this article, we’ll look at how you can password protect Dropbox folders, as well as files embedded in WordPress content—a particularly useful approach for those using WordPress and Dropbox together to run their business.
Password Protect Direct Dropbox Folders’ Links
Dropbox does have a built-in function to password protect individual files or entire folders, but you need a Premium account to be able to use it. Once you’ have that’ve signed up for a Premium account, the process is actually quite straightforward:
Step 1: Sign in to Dropbox.com.
Step 2: Select “Share” next to the name of the file or folder you wish to share.
Step 3: Click “Link settings” then select “Only people with the password.”
Enter your desired password in the field.
Step 4: Click “Save settings.”
The process is simple enough. Let’s move on to the next section where we’ll provide detailed instructions on how to password protect Dropbox folders in WordPress content.
Display Dropbox Folders in WordPress Content
Long term WordPress and Dropbox users will likely have tried to insert photos from Dropbox into a WordPress post.
For security purposes, you may want to safeguard these files so they can only be accessed by specific users. While Dropbox allows you to password-protect access links, what if you want to display Dropbox files (like images) directly in your content, rather than just providing a link?
Insert Dropbox Files to WordPress Content
WordPress allows you to insert images from external sources into a post by pasting their full URLs. Unfortunately, when it comes to Dropbox, the link typically remains as a link rather than displaying as an image.
Replace Links Manually
If you want to make sure your images display properly in WordPress content, you can replace the last 4 characters of the file URL (which is normally “dl=0”) with “raw=1”.
Your URL will look like this:
Before:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/bj79qt5dqfp92gm/DSC_0520.JPG?dl=0
After:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/bj79qt5dqfp92gm/DSC_0520.JPG?raw=1
Once this is done, you can go ahead and insert the link into your content as normal.
Out-of-the-Box Plugin
Modifying the URL is a quick fix if you only want to embed a few Dropbox images. For a gallery, however, the Out-of-the-Box plugin can be extremely helpful.
Step 1: Install the plugin on your WordPress website.
Step 2: Link a Dropbox account.
- Go to “Out-of-the-Box” > “Settings” in your admin dashboard.
- Click on the “Add account” button.
- You’ll be redirected to the Dropbox login page.
- Click on the “Allow” button to authorize the plugin to access your data.
Step 3: Add a Dropbox folder to WordPress content
On Edit pages, you’ll see new buttons in the WordPress visual editor for inserting images from Dropbox.
Choose the folder and select the “Photo gallery” option.
Your gallery will then display on the frontend as shown.
Now it’s time to protect these files from unwanted visitors.
Password Protect Dropbox Folders with PPWP Pro Plugin
You’ve successfully added images from Dropbox folders to your content. But is it risky to present these images without protection?
We recommend password protecting your files/folders to prevent unauthorized access and use.
Among thousands of plugins available, PPWP Pro stands out as one of the most popular tools specializing in password protection. Let’s walk through how to password protect Dropbox folders embedded in WordPress content using this plugin.
Password Protect an Entire Page
PPWP Pro allows you to protect entire pages where your Dropbox files are embedded with just a few clicks.
Step 1: Click the “Password Protection” column under the Pages or Posts screen.
Step 2: Click “Password protect” and then “Password protect this page” in the popup. The plugin will automatically generate a new password.
You can create as many passwords as you need after that.
Step 3 (optional): Restrict passwords by usage or time.
As a result, your embedded Dropbox files will be protected by passwords.
Password Protect Content Sections
What if you want to protect only the gallery while keeping the rest of the post public?
Follow these steps to password protect specific content sections:
Step 1: Navigate to “Password Protect WordPress” > “Partial Protection” in your admin dashboard.
A new screen will appear. Switch to the “Section Protection” tab.
Step 2: Click “Add New” to create a new section template.
Step 3: Add the Dropbox files you want to protect and set passwords to unlock your protected section.
Step 4: Embed your protected section into your content.
Now, your Dropbox folder embedded in WordPress content is now fully password protected.
Conclusion
We’ve looked at several ways to password protect Dropbox folders. If you want to password protect direct links, Dropbox’s built-in function helps you achieve this by simply setting a password for the link. Only those with the correct password can access your protected Dropbox folder.
To secure embedded Dropbox folders in WordPress content, the PPWP Pro plugin is the ideal choice. This plugin gives you the ability to password protect an entire page or just specific sections where your Dropbox folders are inserted.
