How to Prevent Students from Downloading Videos in Microsoft Stream
Question details
Educators and school administrators need to restrict students from downloading video content hosted on Microsoft Stream.
- Product
- Microsoft Stream
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Managing access and security for educational video content to ensure it remains view-only for the student body.
- Observed behavior
- Students currently have the default ability to download videos from the shared library, which needs to be restricted to viewing only.
Ensure you have Site Administrator or Full Control permissions in the SharePoint site where your Microsoft Stream videos are stored.
Create a Custom Permission Level in SharePoint
By configuring a custom permission level in SharePoint, you can grant students the ability to view videos while explicitly stripping away their download rights.
Microsoft Stream stores its video files in SharePoint document libraries. To restrict downloads, you must break the default permission inheritance of that specific library and assign a custom view-only role to your students.
Open your SharePoint site, click the gear icon to go to 'Site Settings', select 'Site Permissions', and then click on 'Advanced Permission Settings'.
Click on 'Permission Levels' in the ribbon. Create a new custom permission level by copying the standard 'Read' level, but ensure that any permissions related to downloading or opening items locally are unchecked.
Navigate to the specific document library where your videos are stored. Open the library settings, select 'Permissions for this document library', and click 'Stop Inheriting Permissions'.
Select the existing SharePoint groups (such as Members and Visitors) that currently grant download access to students, and click 'Remove User Permissions'.
Click 'Grant Permissions', enter the student groups or accounts, and explicitly assign them the newly created custom permission level that restricts downloading.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why do students still see the download button after I changed the permissions?
This usually happens if the student account belongs to another SharePoint group (such as Site Members or Owners) that still retains higher-level permissions. Ensure you have removed all conflicting group permissions in the library after clicking 'Stop Inheriting Permissions'.
Can I block video downloads if the file is shared directly from OneDrive?
Yes. If the video is stored in OneDrive rather than a shared SharePoint site, you can simply use the 'Block Download' toggle when generating a shareable link. This bypasses the need to create custom permission levels.
Can I apply this custom permission level to specific videos instead of the entire library?
Yes. You can click the ellipsis (...) next to an individual video file, select 'Manage Access', click 'Advanced', and stop inheriting permissions for just that single file before assigning the custom view-only permission to students.
Will stopping permission inheritance affect new files added to the library?
Any new files uploaded to that specific library will inherit the unique permissions you just set up for the library. However, if you add new users to the parent site in the future, they will not automatically gain access to this specific library unless you manually grant it.
