AAM Protected Media Files
Add-on to the free Advanced Access Manager plugin that protects media files from direct access for visitors, roles or users
The facts
- Rating
- 5★ from 2
- Active installs
- 500+
- Price
- Free
- Last updated
- 23 Apr 2026
- Added
- Nov 2019
- Requires WP
- 4.7.0
- Tested up to
- WP 6.9.7
- Requires PHP
- 5.6.0
- Downloads
- 18,375
Our analysis
AI-assistedAAM Protected Media Files is a WordPress plugin designed to control access to media library items. It allows you to prevent direct access to files for visitors, individual users, or groups based on user roles. The plugin works in conjunction with the Advanced Access Manager (AAM) to provide a user interface for managing these permissions.
To set up the plugin, you need to follow specific manual steps to configure your web server to protect the /wp-content/uploads folder. The plugin does not alter the physical location or URL of files, ensuring that access restrictions can be easily reversed by deactivating it.
Best for: This plugin is suitable for WordPress site owners who need to control access to media files based on user roles.
What it does well
- ✓Prevents direct access to media library items
- ✓Manages access for visitors, individual users, and roles
- ✓Works with a variety of file types, including those from third-party plugins
- ✓Does not change physical file locations or URLs
Where it falls short
- •Requires manual configuration of the web server
- •Limited information on premium features
Verdict
AAM Protected Media Files offers a straightforward solution for managing media access, but requires some technical setup to function properly.
From the developer
AAM Plugin's own description of AAM Protected Media Files, lightly tidied.
Prevent direct access to the unlimited number of media library items either for visitors, individual users or groups of users (roles). This plugin does not modify a physical file’s location or URL.
The AAM Protected Media Files plugins is the official add-on to the free Advanced Access Manager (aka AAM). While this plugin actually manages physical access to the media files, AAM provides the UI interface to define access to files.
Few Facts
- It requires a simple manual steps in order to configure a webserver to protect direct access to
/wp-content/uploadsfolder. For more information, please check our installation instructions; - It does not change a physical file’s location, content or URL. Upon deactivation, everything goes back to normal;
- It protects all the allowed by WordPress core file types and those that are extended with third-party plugins (e.g.
.svg,.sketch, etc.). For the list of all allowed extensions, check official WP documentation for the wp_get_ext_types() core function; - It allows you to manage access to any media file for visitors, any individual user, roles or even define the default access to all media files for everybody (this one is available with premium add-on for AAM plugin);
For more information about how properly install and use it, refer to our documentation.