Hotlink gate
Blocks downloads that were initiated by clicks coming from third-party sites. Useful when other sites embed your download links directly without sending traffic through your forum.
Toggle
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Hotlink protection | Off | When on, downloads with a referer header from a host that is not in the allow list are blocked. |
When the toggle is off, the gate passes immediately and does nothing.
Allow list
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Allowed referer hosts | empty | Hostnames that are always allowed. One per line, host only (no scheme, no path). Your board's own host is always allowed implicitly. |
A request with no referer header is allowed. The gate only blocks when a referer is present and the referring host is not in the allow list.
Bypass
Grant Bypass hotlink protection to user groups that should skip the gate. Useful for moderators or trusted partner sites.
What the add-on does when this gate triggers
The request returns HTTP 403 with the message "Hotlink protection blocked this request." The user can still complete the download by visiting the download page on your forum directly.
Why a referer-less request passes
Many privacy tools strip the referer header. Blocking on missing referer would also block legitimate users who use Firefox's strict privacy mode, ad blockers, or VPN browsers that scrub headers. The gate intentionally errs toward access.
Preview
Hotlink protection only applies to actual downloads, not previews.