Sometimes you do not want other webpages to use your images directly from your server. It is possible to block that and even set up a replacement image to be displayed instead.
To enable hotlink protection, please follow these simple steps:
- Go to the WP Dashboard › Settings › Media Ace panel
- Switch to the Hotlink Protection section
- Check the Enabled? box to turn on the protection
- Access allowed for URLs allows you to make exceptions for some sites. Some social media are added by default,
to enable sharing with the featured image - Block direct access to these files allows you to set the file formats to be protected
- Turn off Direct requests to make the protection stronger (but less stable). Not recommended.
- Redirect blocked request to this URL – where you can type in the URL of a replacement image that will be sent instead of the hot-linked one.