Leak Shield and piracy protection
Prevent video piracy.
What works, and what does not, method by method.
Every anti-piracy method is sold as if it stops piracy. None of them does on its own. This page takes the eight methods creators actually use and says, for each one, what it stops, what it misses and what it costs you in friction.
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By uncompressed.io · Updated October 2026
Short answer
How do you prevent video piracy?
Combine methods: sell with a sign-in for each buyer, keep downloads off for premieres, give each buyer an invisibly marked copy, search for copies on a schedule and send takedown notices. Encryption and disabled downloads stop casual copying, but only a per-buyer mark can tell you who leaked. Protection reduces risk and makes leaks traceable; it cannot guarantee a film never leaks or that every leak can be traced.
- No single method prevents piracy on its own
- Sign-in per buyer stops anonymous link sharing
- DRM stops stream ripping, not recording or sharing
- A per-buyer mark names who made a copy
- Leak search and takedowns shorten a leak's life
- Visible logos can be cropped out
Method by method
Eight methods, judged
and what each one misses
Read across each row. A method earns its place if it stops something the others do not.
uncompressed.io offers sign-in per buyer, downloads per film and, with Leak Shield, per-buyer marking, leak search and takedowns. It does not offer DRM. Protection reduces risk and makes leaks traceable; it cannot guarantee a film never leaks or that every leak can be traced.
What actually works
The combination to use
for a creator selling video
Before release
Sell through a storefront where every viewer is a buyer with their own access. Keep downloads off for the premiere window. Tell buyers every copy is individually marked.
At release
Turn on Leak Shield (USD 99 a month or USD 1,188 a year). Each buyer gets their own invisibly marked copy, and the open web and torrent indexes are searched weekly for the first month.
After a sighting
You review it. On confirmation the buyer is identified and blocked, a membership is cancelled, a takedown notice is sent and a PDF case file is kept.
The reason marking sits at the centre: every other method tries to stop copying, and copying can always be done. Marking changes the buyer's calculation instead. A member who knows their copy carries their account is far less likely to post it, and if they do, you know who and can act.
What to skip
Methods that cost more than they save
before you spend on them
Right-click blockers and overlay scripts give a feeling of safety and little else; any capture tool works around them. Huge visible watermarks across the picture punish the paying audience more than pirates, who crop them. DRM is worth it when a contract requires it, but for an independent creator it adds licences, player limits and support work, and it still cannot name a leaker. The DRM vs forensic watermarking guide compares the two fairly.
If a leak has already happened, start with what to do if a screener leaked: close access, record each copy, then send a notice to each host.
Who this is not for
Questions
Frequently asked
What is the most effective way to prevent video piracy?
There is no single method. The combination that works for creators is per-buyer access, an invisible mark unique to each buyer, a scheduled search for copies and takedown notices. Marking matters most because it gives buyers a reason not to share.
Does disabling right-click or downloads prevent piracy?
It stops casual saving of the file. It does not stop screen recording, browser extensions that capture streams, or a buyer who already downloaded the file before you switched downloads off.
Does DRM prevent piracy?
DRM encrypts the stream so only licensed players can decrypt it, which stops simple stream ripping. It does not stop a camera filming the screen, and it does not tell you who leaked a copy. uncompressed.io does not offer DRM.
Can a visible watermark prevent piracy?
A visible logo deters some sharing and advertises the source, but it can be cropped or blurred. A visible watermark only identifies a person if it shows the viewer's own name or email, which many creators find intrusive for paying fans.
Can I stop people screen recording my videos?
Not in a web browser. A per-buyer forensic mark is designed to carry into a recording so that the copy can be traced back to the buyer, though heavy cropping or a camera recording can weaken it.
Is preventing piracy worth the effort for a small creator?
If people pay to watch, yes, in proportion. A few minutes of setup and an add-on cost little next to one leaked premiere. If your videos are free and earn from reach, piracy spreads your work and protection is rarely worth it.
Use the methods that work together.
Sign-in for every buyer comes with the streaming platform. Leak Shield adds per-buyer marking, leak search and takedowns for USD 99 a month or USD 1,188 a year, any paid plan. Protection reduces risk and makes leaks traceable; it cannot guarantee a film never leaks or that every leak can be traced.
Sources
- 1.W3C Encrypted Media Extensions, Working Draft (dated 7 July 2026, read 12 October 2026)
- 2.US Copyright Office: Section 512 of Title 17 (read 12 October 2026)