Private Mode, exclusively for Vimeo Pro, Business, and Premium members, allows you to prevent your profile page and all of your videos from appearing on vimeo.com.
Keep in mind, any member can choose to make their videos private by adjusting their video privacy settings. Private Mode goes a step further by hiding your profile page, locking all of your videos into the "Hide from Vimeo" privacy setting, and preventing you from using Groups or Channels.
There is a currently an issue where privacy options are displaying on individual settings pages even when an account is in Private Mode. Note that even if you make changes to these settings, the account-wide "Hide from Vimeo" setting will override them.
You should only use this account setting if you're certain you never want any of your viewers to access your videos on a vimeo.com web page. Instead, they will view your videos exclusively on your website or within Vimeo portfolios or review pages. (Read below for more information on sharing videos in Private Mode.)
If you're uploading promotional / commercial videos that may have a negative impact on viewer experience (for instance, by clogging search results with scores of similar videos), you will be required to maintain a Pro, Business or Premium account and use Private Mode. (Read more in the Vimeo Guidelines.)
Disclaimer about Private Mode
Entering Private Mode will remove all your activity on vimeo.com, forever. Specifically, Private Mode hides your profile and videos from vimeo.com. You will not be able to comment on or like videos, communicate with other members, or create channels or groups. Any messages, comments, likes, groups or channels you created before entering Private Mode will also be removed. This action cannot be reversed.
If this sounds scary, consider adjusting your video settings instead of using Private Mode.
Setting up Private Mode
Basic and Vimeo Plus members need to upgrade to Vimeo Pro, Business, or Premium to unlock Private Mode.
If you're a Pro, Business or Premium member, you can activate Private Mode on the Account tab of your Account Settings. Simply scroll down to the "Private Mode" section, click the button that says, "Enable Private Mode."
You’ll need to review all the changes that will be made to your account, then re-enter your account password to enable Private Mode.
All of your videos must still comply with our Terms of Service and Guidelines, even in Private Mode.
To disable Private Mode, head back to the Account tab of your Account Settings and click the "Disable Private Mode" button. Remember, disabling Private Mode will not bring back any of your previous activity (comments, likes, messages, etc.).
Sharing videos in Private Mode
In Private Mode, your videos will not be publicly visible on Vimeo.com and you're not able to use Groups or Channels. However, you can still use Vimeo to host, organize and share your videos in the following ways:
- Embed your videos on your website or other places around the web (You can even add domain-level privacy.)
- Showcase your videos in a beautiful Pro Portfolio
- Share videos with clients using Video Review Pages
Using Showcases in Private Mode
In Private Mode, you can still use showcases to organize your videos into different collections. However, only you will be able to access your own showcases. You cannot share showcases with other viewers in Private Mode. Additionally, you won’t be able to optimize your collection using the SEO tool. This is because Google cannot index private showcases.
Deactivating Private Mode
If you choose to deactivate Private Mode, and you're still a Pro, Business or Premium member, the privacy settings of your videos will stay the same ("Hide this from Vimeo.com" or "Only people with a password can see this video"). If your account is lapsing to Basic, then any videos that are set to "Hide this from Vimeo.com" will update to "Only me."