Problem with followers not being able to view password protected pages using the sweet password
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I can’t figure out why people I’ve added as followers to my site are not able to view the pages with using the password I’ve set. Can you please help me?
WP.com: Yes
Correct account: YesThe blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)
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I have made a website where some of the pages are password protected that only those that I provide the password to are allowed to view the full page. But when the people would go to the page and would enter the password, it wouldn’t allow anyone in to view the pages that were password protected.
So then I read up more on how to get people to be able to view the pages that were password protected and had 1 person try to help me by signing up for a WordPress account and I added them to my followers list. I then asked them to accept the invite to the page and then to log in to WordPress and then go to the website and try putting in the password for the protected page and they still were not able to view the pages that they should have.
I did go incognito on one of my browsers, joined my site with a different user ID and then I added my test user ID to my Followers List and accepted the invite. I then went to the page of my website and was asked to put in the password for one of the pages that’s password protected and it let me in and it didn’t ask me for the password again for any of the password protected pages. So I’m not sure if that means that I figured out what needed to be done or if it was picking up on my original user ID that I used to make the website? And I’m not sure why it didn’t ask for the password again for any of the other pages that are password protected?
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My site is made up of pages that are either Public or Password Protected. To view the pages that I have set as password protected, I have given people the password to view those pages, but for some unknown reason people I have given the password to to view the password protected pages, have not been able to view the pages for some reason when they enter the password for those pages. I have tried everything, even with going incognito, and still the problem remains.
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I was curious to know a bit more about why you are specifically inviting folks to be “followers” on your site?
One does not need to be a follower to view password protected pages, but instead anyone with the password (even an anonymous visitor who is not logged in) would be able to see the page, as long as they enter the correct password.
Did you have another reason for adding these folks as followers? Thanks for the additional info!
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Hi again,
I also wanted to add here that if you are concerned about keeping info on your site private, you may want to consider actually setting the entire site to “private” so the only people who can access it are folks you invite. This has two advantages:
- It’s quite a bit more secure than password protecting single pages (especially if the password is easy to guess)
- On a private site, once you give someone access they would not need to use passwords to see individual pages… you can actually remove password protection from all pages safely, knowing the only folks that can see the info are those you have invited.
More info here: https://wordpress.com/support/settings/privacy-settings/
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As I was reading the support pages after people weren’t able to view the password protected pages even with the password, it stated that those who I wanted to grant access to the password protected pages needed to be followers first by creating a WordPress account, logging into their account and then going to my site and entering the password I gave them and that it would only work for those who had created a WordPress account and that I had made as a follower. That’s what it says in the WordPress support section. I’ve been quite frustrated with this whole thing because it was my initial understanding that if I made a page password protected and have people the password to this pages, that they could easily have access to the site…but nope. BIG FAT NOPE!!
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it stated that those who I wanted to grant access to the password protected pages needed to be followers first by creating a WordPress account…
I’ve been quite frustrated with this whole thing because it was my initial understanding that if I made a page password protected and have people the password to this pages, that they could easily have access to the site…but nope.
It feels like you might be confusing password-protected, and private here.
A password-protected post or page on a public site can be viewed by anyone who has the password. They do not need a WordPress.com account, and they don’t need to be added as a follower on the site.
I just tested this – I opened your page, https://rescuefosters.wordpress.com/aransas-county-texas/, while completely logged out of WordPress.com, and entered the password you have saved for that page in the editor, and I can view it without any problems. So the password feature is working as it should.
You mentioned “people I have given the password to to view the password protected pages, have not been able to view the pages for some reason when they enter the password for those pages”.
Make sure they’re adding the password exactly as you gave it – capitalization matters, and if they’re copy-pasting it and accidentally including a space before or after the password, that matters.
Also make sure they’re not blocking cookies in their browser. When someone types in the password, that sets a cookie in their browser that allows them to view the protected post. If they’re blocking cookies, that won’t work correctly.
On a private site, only people you add to the site as viewers (not followers – viewers can follow a site, but they need to be added as a viewer first), can access the site. To be added as a viewer, someone needs their own WordPress.com account, with their own password.
You can still password protect individual posts or pages on a private site, but that’s only necessary if you want to restrict some content even to the viewers you have added to the site.
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How can you view the pages that are password protected without me giving you the password? You shouldn’t be able to. The WordPress editor wouldn’t leave the password there for anyone to have access to.
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Hi there,
We’re members of the WordPress.com support team and we have access to the backend of all the sites hosted here. That’s why we can view your password-protected pages.
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So with the pages that I have made as password protected, do those who have the password need to make a WordPress account in order to view those password protected pages? If not, can you tell me why it doesn’t work for someone to put in the password to view those pages while it does work for others? Even with the person it didn’t work for making a WordPress account and me adding them as a follower, they are still not able to view the password protected pages. And they have been entering the password correctly. Can you tell me why this would happen and how it can be fixed?
Thank you!
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Hi again,
Let me take those one at a time and see if I can add some clarity here. Thanks for your patience!
So with the pages that I have made as password protected, do those who have the password need to make a WordPress account in order to view those password protected pages?
No, the idea with password protecting the page is that it’s a page anyone can see (even if they don’t have a WordPress.com account) since it’s more work to create an account. This is a nice lightweight way to let folks access the page, no account needed. All they need is the password. More info here: https://wordpress.com/support/post-and-page-visibility/#changing-visibility
If not, can you tell me why it doesn’t work for someone to put in the password to view those pages while it does work for others? Even with the person it didn’t work for making a WordPress account and me adding them as a follower, they are still not able to view the password protected pages.
It should work. I suspect there is a bug in the code here that is causing an issue (we’re still investigating that) where the password is not working for followers. But in my tests the password works fine for other people. It just does not work for followers.
With this in mind, I’d like you to test something for me if that is OK. This works for me, so I want to make sure it works for you too. Please open a new incognito window in Chrome, and then visit one of your password protected pages. Don’t log in to WordPress.com first, just visit the page as an anonymous visitor. If you enter the password without logging in to WordPress.com first, does it work?
Thanks for the additional info!
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I went incognito without being logged in to WordPress and entered the password into one of the password protected pages and I was able to view the pages.
The person who tried logging into the site using the password first did so without being a WordPress member and therefore not being logged in as a follower. So then I doing some research through the support pages and it sounded like to have someone view the pages that were password protected, that they would need to have an account and then let me know what their email or user ID was to add them as a follower. She did that and still was not able to get through after entering the password. So I don’t know what is causing her to not be able to view the pages. I suggested to her when she had a chance to try clearing her cookies and cache on her browser. But she also tried to log in using two different devices and was not able to access the password protected pages. So I honestly do not know what would be keeping her from being able to get on.
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Hi there,
I went incognito without being logged in to WordPress and entered the password into one of the password protected pages and I was able to view the pages.
Perfect, thank you for testing that and confirming it works. We’re still investigating exactly why passwords on not working for followers on your site (they should) but I’ll underscore again that being a follower is not a requirement for accessing password protected page.
It is a requirement to access a “private site” but that does not apply to your site.
With this in mind, you can remove those folks as followers and they should be able to access the pages with the correct password. More info on how to remove followers here: https://wordpress.com/support/followers/#how-to-remove-a-follower
The person who tried logging into the site using the password first did so without being a WordPress member and therefore not being logged in as a follower.
I noticed that in the last 24 hours the status of this site has been changed from Private to Public a total of 4 times. I’m not sure on when this person tried to access the site, but if they did it while the site was private (but before they accepted their follower invite) they would not have access to the site.
So, it’s possible that with the various changes to the site privacy, plus the follower invites, passwords on pages, etc. there are a few ways things could “go wrong” for that specific user depending on the timing of when they tried to access that page.
What I am curious about if if they have access now. If you remove them as a follower on your end, and then ask them to try again with the password, can they access it as expected? I’m hoping the answer is “yes” :)
Thanks!
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Oops, I forgot to add that we’d like to test a bit more and see what is going on. With this in mind I’ve added myself as a follower to your site, and will remove myself as soon as I am done with my investigation.
Thanks for your patience!
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I actually never changed the status of the site from public to private or password protected to private. I have kept it as password protected the entire time. So I’m not sure why it is showing on your end that the site status changed at all.
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To clarify, I’m talking about something different from the passwords you add to your page. I’m referring to the general setting here that makes your entire site “Private” or “coming soon” if you don’t want the public to visit it.
You can see the setting here: https://wordpress.com/settings/general/rescuefosters.wordpress.com
Currently your site is set to Public which means anyone can visit the site (and see pages that do not have password protection) but I do see that you experimented with this setting a bit, and it’s possible your friend was trying the password during that time.
Please remove them as a “follower” since currently passwords do not work for followers. Once you have set them so they have un-followed your site, their password to view the page should work as normal. More info on how to remove followers here: https://wordpress.com/support/followers/#how-to-remove-a-follower
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