ImageKit.io Docs
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What is ImageKit.io?
📌Getting Started
Getting started
How to use ImageKit.io?
🔧External storage
Integration overview
How it works?
Configure origin
URL-endpoints
ImageKit.io storage
Media Library
Limits and troubleshooting
Limits
Error troubleshooting
Testing and Infrastructure Setup
Testing on multiple environments
Using on multiple websites
Using with your CDN
Using with a custom domain name
✨Features
Image Transformations
Image Optimization
Video Transformation (Beta release)
Video Optimization (Beta release)
Named Transformations
Network-based image optimization
Client hints
Caches
Cache purging
Security
Signed URLs
Private images
SEO-friendly image URL
Default Images
Progressive JPEGs
Non-image file compression
Performance monitoring
User access management
Platform guides
Magento
WordPress
Shopify
Sample projects
Upload widget
Media library widget
📙API Reference
API Introduction
Upload file API
Media API
Metadata API
Custom metadata fields API
EXTENSIONS
Extensions reference
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Private images
Private images are images that are not accessible to any end-user. Since much effort goes into producing an original image, there might be scenarios where original images must be protected and made inaccessible to anyone.
For example, a paid image gallery that shares original images with its customers only when the payment is completed.

Private Images with ImageKit.io

Any original image that is marked private cannot be accessed directly through a standard image URL. Private Original Images can only be accessed through a valid signed URL.​
The same logic applies when a private image is being resized using real-time transformation parameters. A valid signed URL is required to access the transformation of a private image.
However, if there are named transformations specified within the dashboard, these named transformations can be used to transform your images. Named transformations can be used with private images without generating a valid signed URL.

Marking Your Images Private

  1. 1.
    If you are uploading images to the Media library, pass the parameter isPrivateFile as true in the image upload request. The uploaded image within the Media Library would be marked as private.
  2. 2.
    If you are delivering images from your S3 bucket added as an origin, set the object metadata x-amz-meta-isprivatefile as true to mark the image as private. This documentation from AWS provides an overview of adding metadata to an object within S3.
  3. 3.
    If you are delivering images from an HTTP Server added as an origin, add Is-Private-File as true within the server response to mark the image as private.
If an image is marked as private once, its status cannot be changed. To unmark an image as private, re-upload the file with the same name as the image that is marked private.

Upload Private Images using Upload API

You can mark images as private while uploading using the Upload API.
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Contents
Private Images with ImageKit.io
Marking Your Images Private
Upload Private Images using Upload API