This feature requires a Pro, Business, Premium, Standard, Advanced, or Enterprise membership.
Private Mode allows you to prevent your profile page and all of your videos from appearing on vimeo.com.
In this article:
- Disclaimer about Private Mode
- Enable and disable Private Mode
- Share videos in Private Mode
- Use Showcases in Private Mode
- Deactivate Private Mode
Disclaimer about Private Mode
Entering Private Mode will remove all your activity on vimeo.com, forever. You should only use this account setting if you're certain you never want any of your viewers to access your content on a vimeo.com web page. They will be able to watch your content exclusively on your website or within Vimeo portfolios or review pages. (Read below for more information on sharing videos in Private Mode.)
Specifically, Private Mode hides your profile page, locks all of your videos into the Hide from Vimeo privacy setting, and prevents you from using groups or channels. Any messages, comments, likes, groups, or channels you created before entering Private Mode will also be removed. This action cannot be reversed.
Be advised that Private Mode does not remove your profile information from vimeo.com. For example, you can still share other videos and comment and like other videos on vimeo.com; doing so will allow others to see your profile name and profile picture.
You can also consider adjusting your video privacy settings instead of using Private Mode.
Enable Private Mode
Vimeo Basic, Plus, Free, and Starter members need to upgrade their plans to unlock Private Mode.
If you're a Pro, Business, Premium, Standard, Advanced, or Enterprise member, you can activate Private Mode by following these steps:
- Navigate to the Privacy tab of your Account Settings.
- Click Enable Private Mode.
- You’ll need to review all the changes that will be made to your account, then re-enter your account password to enable Private Mode. Note: All of your videos must still comply with our Terms of Service and Acceptable Use Community Guidelines, even in Private Mode.
Share videos in Private Mode
In Private Mode, your videos will not be publicly visible on Vimeo.com and you're not able to use Groups or Channels. However, you can still use Vimeo to host, organize and share your videos in the following ways:
- Embed your videos on your website or other places around the web (You can even add domain-level privacy.)
- Showcase your videos in a beautiful Pro Portfolio
- Share videos with clients using Video Review Pages
Use Showcases in Private Mode
In Private Mode, you can still use showcases to organize your videos into different collections. However, only you will be able to access your own showcases. You cannot share showcases with other viewers in Private Mode or add to your team's showcases. Additionally, you won’t be able to optimize your collection using the SEO tool. This is because Google cannot index private showcases.
Disable Private Mode
To disable Private Mode, head back to the Account tab of your Account Settings and click the Disable Private Mode button. Remember, disabling Private Mode will not bring back any of your previous activity (comments, likes, messages, etc.).
If you choose to deactivate Private Mode, and you're still a Pro or Standard member or higher, the privacy settings of your videos will stay the same (Hide from Vimeo, Unlisted, or Password). If your account is lapsing to Basic or Free, then any videos that are set to "Hide this from Vimeo.com" will update to "Private".