Password-Protecting Your Client Galleries: A Simple Guide
Why and how to add a password to your photo galleries — and how Gemmini keeps client work private without forcing anyone to create an account.
Some galleries are meant for the world; many are not. Wedding previews, boudoir sessions, branding shoots under embargo — these deserve a layer of privacy that doesn't get in your client's way. Here's how to think about gallery passwords, and how Gemmini handles them.
When to use a password
- Private client work you don't want appearing in search results or shared beyond the couple, family, or brand.
- Pre-release content that's under an embargo or NDA.
- Selective sharing where a single link is convenient but you still want a gate.
How Gemmini protects a gallery
When you set a password on a gallery, Gemmini stores only a bcrypt hash of it — never the plain text. Visitors see a simple password screen; once they enter the correct password, they receive a short-lived signed cookie that grants access for that gallery only. No client account is ever required.
A note on link privacy
Gemmini slugs are short and random (for example emma-josh-7gk2pq8r), so they're effectively unguessable. Combine that with a password for sensitive work and you get two independent layers: the secret URL and the secret password.
Choosing a good password
Make it easy to share verbally but not trivial to guess — a couple's names plus a year is a common, friendly choice. You can change or remove the password at any time without affecting the underlying Drive files.
Privacy shouldn't mean friction. With a single link and an optional password, your clients get in instantly while your work stays protected.