Easy Digital Downloads Content Restriction
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About Easy Digital Downloads Content Restriction
A purchase opens the door: who decides when it closes?
You sell a download and want to keep the manual, the help pages or a forum for your customers. Locking that content looks like the whole job, but in doing so you have just created a new product with no duration: access to whatever you publish next.
Under the basic rule, having purchased is enough. If your content keeps changing and you only want people who are still paying to see it, you have to decide that explicitly, because that condition comes from the Recurring Payments integration, which requires an active subscription rather than a past purchase.
Content Restriction, the Easy Digital Downloads extension, connects your content with what each customer bought.
Whole page, fragment or price variation
- Whole page or post: it works on posts, pages and custom post types, with the restriction option below the editor.
- Part of the content: the
[edd_restrict]shortcode protects a fragment and accepts download IDs orany, plusprice_id,messageandclass. - Variable prices: you pick a specific variation or all prices of the download.
- Bundles: a global setting lets products inside a purchased bundle count toward access.
- Messages: global text for one, several or any product, with
{product_name}and{product_names}, and a per-page message that overrides the global one.
Buyers also need to find what they unlocked. Accessible pages appear on the purchase confirmation, the {page_list} tag adds them to the email receipt, and [edd_restricted_pages] lists them for the logged-in customer.
bbPress forums for customers only
Restriction also applies to bbPress forums and topics, with these differences:
- A restricted forum stays visible in the list, but without the new topic and reply forms for people without access.
- Inside that forum, the topic list is hidden from those people.
- Inside a topic, reply content is filtered.
- Your restriction message replaces the bbPress permission notice.
Four rules that change who gets in
Several downloads mean any one of them. The condition is OR: buying one is enough, so it cannot require two purchases at once.
The buyer needs an account. To get access, they must create one on your site during purchase. Review your checkout if you allow purchases without registering.
Hiding the menu item does not hide the content. That setting removes links to restricted pages from the navigation menu for logged-in customers without access. The page stays protected by its own rule.
Some people bypass the restriction. Post authors see their own content, product authors see what their products restrict, and bbPress moderators pass forum restrictions. Always check with a customer account.
Activating the extension and locking the first page
It needs a current version of Easy Digital Downloads. After activation there is no additional setup step. General settings are under Downloads, Settings, Extensions, Content Restriction.
Try it on a single page before extending the rule:
- Decide whether access depends on the purchase or on an active subscription.
- Write the global messages with the product name and how to get it.
- Turn on the restriction below the editor of one page and choose the download.
- Make a test purchase with a customer account and another visit with no purchase.
If you need member plans, not just buyers
If you sell subscriptions with Easy Digital Downloads, Recurring Payments adds the checkbox that requires an active subscription and the subscription="true" variable in the shortcode.
MemberPress Pro starts from elsewhere: access rules, content released by date and expiring access, alongside recurring billing.
Restricting content by purchase: points worth clearing up
Does access end if a subscription is canceled?
With the Recurring Payments integration you can require an active subscription. To do so, tick its checkbox or use subscription="true".
Can I require two products at once?
Not with several downloads in one rule, because the condition is OR and one of them is enough.
Topics
Version history
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v
2.3.5 Current 18 Jul 2026
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v
2.3.3 11 Apr 2026
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Frequently asked questions
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GPL (General Public License) is the license under which WordPress and most premium plugins/themes are distributed. It grants you the right to use, modify and redistribute the software in as many projects as you want, with no domain restrictions.
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Yes. With membership you get automatic updates via our GPLClub Updater plugin (installed on your WP, detects new versions and applies them). With individual purchase, you get one year of manual updates from your account.
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Depends on the plan. Monthly: 3 domains. Semi-annual: 7. Annual and Lifetime: 15. Individual purchase: 1 domain.
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GPLClub offers its own support for installation, configuration and compatibility. For direct support from the original author (feature requests, product-specific bugs), a license purchased from the author is required.
