How Filemonk protects your files

Selling files means handing them over. Filemonk’s protection works by controlling access to the download, and by making a shared copy traceable back to whoever leaked it. This guide explains each layer, so you can decide which ones to turn on and what to expect from them.

What happens on every download

When someone clicks download, Filemonk checks the request before serving anything, in this order:

1. On the Start plan, your store is inside its download allowance.
2. On the Start plan, your store is inside its monthly order limit.
3. The order passed its fraud check, if fraud protection is on.
4. Access to the order has not been revoked, whether by you or by a refund.
5. Any preorder has actually been released.
6. EU withdrawal consent has been given, where you require it.
7. The order is inside its download count limit.
8. The order is inside its download date limit.
9. Downloads are not blocked for your store.

If any check fails, the download is refused. The first two apply only on the Start plan: a paid plan never fails a download for either. The last one is the fair usage stop, which applies only on older per-order plans and only once your store has been flagged.

Every download that passes the checks is recorded in the order’s download history, with the file’s stored size, and the country, IP address and browser of whoever downloaded it. The size is the file’s own, not the bytes actually transferred. Logging is best effort: if writing the record fails, the download still goes ahead.

The layers you control

Layer	What it stops	Where to set it
Download limits	Endless re-downloading, and links living forever	Limit the number of downloads per order
Login requirement	A forwarded download page working for anyone	Require customers to log in
PDF watermarking	Anonymous sharing, by stamping the buyer’s details on each PDF	Protect PDFs with a watermark
Refund and fraud rules	Access surviving a chargeback or a cancelled order	Disable access for refunded or cancelled orders
Manual revocation	A specific customer you no longer want served	Disable access to downloads for any order

Used together, a leaked download page is time-limited, count-limited and behind a sign-in, and the file itself carries the buyer’s name. No single one of these is a lock, which is why they are worth using together.

What no download app can prevent

Once a customer has legitimately downloaded your file, it is on their computer. They can copy it, email it, or upload it somewhere. That is true of every digital product on every platform.

What you can do is make it unattractive and traceable: watermark PDFs with the buyer’s details, keep limits tight enough that a shared link stops working, and require login so the link alone is not enough. Treat protection as deterrence, not a lock.

Files hosted elsewhere are different

A file added by link is served by Google Drive, Dropbox, or whoever hosts it. The checks above protect the Filemonk page, not the file at the far end, and that URL keeps working for anyone who has it. Upload files you seriously need to protect. See Add files from Google Drive or Dropbox.

Troubleshooting

A customer says their download is refused

Work through the checks in order. Usually it is a spent download limit or an expired date, sometimes revoked access after a refund. The order page tells you which. See Troubleshoot a single order.

I think a file has been shared around

Open a leaked copy and read its watermark: it carries the buyer’s details for the order it came from. Then disable access on that order. See Disable access to downloads for any order.

Downloads are blocked for everyone, not one customer

That is a store-level stop, not a protection rule: usually a plan limit or a fair usage flag. Check your usage on Home. See Usage alerts.

A refunded customer still has access

The automatic rule for refunded and cancelled orders is off. Turn it on, then disable access on that order by hand, since the rule applies from when it is enabled. See Disable access for refunded or cancelled orders.

FAQ

Where are my files actually stored?

Files you upload are held in Filemonk’s storage and served through your download page. Files you add by link stay wherever you host them.

Can I stop someone downloading twice?

Yes. Set the maximum downloads per file to 1, though be ready for support requests when someone’s download genuinely fails. Two or three is a common compromise. See Limit the number of downloads per order.

Does watermarking work on anything other than PDFs?

No. It is a PDF feature, since it modifies the document itself. Other formats rely on the access rules instead.

Can customers find my files by guessing a URL?

Files are not listed publicly and their addresses are not guessable. The realistic risk is a link being shared deliberately, which is what limits, login, and watermarks address.

Do these protections apply to files I email directly?

A link you send from an order still goes to that order’s download page, so the rules apply. A link you copy from the content library does not. See Get a downloadable link for a file.

Related guides

• Limit the number of downloads per order, the most effective single setting.
• Protect PDFs with a watermark, to make sharing traceable.
• Require customers to log in, to tie downloads to an account.