Hotlinking is when another website embeds your images using your URL, so your hosting account serves the file and pays the bandwidth while their page gets the benefit.
ENABLING PROTECTION
- In cPanel open Hotlink Protection under Security.
- Check the "URLs to allow access" list. It should contain your own domain, with and without www, and https versions. Add any legitimate site that embeds your content.
- In "Block direct access for the following extensions", enter the file types to protect, such as jpg,jpeg,png,gif,webp,pdf,mp4
- Optionally tick "Allow direct requests" so people opening the image URL directly still see it.
- Optionally set a redirect URL to serve a replacement image instead.
- Click Enable.
THINGS TO WATCH
Add Google, Facebook and any partner or CDN domain to the allow list, or your images may stop appearing in search results and link previews. Test your own site afterwards in a private window, including email newsletters that embed images. If you use a CDN, add the CDN hostname to the allow list.
Disable it temporarily if images disappear unexpectedly, then rebuild the allow list carefully.
