How to schedule when your video releases or expires

You can use scheduled publishing to set a specific time when your videos release or expire. By scheduling your videos, you control when your content is available for viewers to watch.

Using a default expiry policy allows you further control over when videos can be watched, and automatically expires videos created by your team(s) after a mandated period of time.

Schedule a video to release or expire

When you share or publish a video on a webpage, scheduling allows you to control when the video is available for viewers to watch.

Videos scheduled to release are unavailable until the set time and date. Instead, a countdown sequence lets visitors to the page know when the video will be ready to play.

Videos scheduled to expire are available until the set time and date, after which the video becomes restricted and viewers are no longer permitted to watch.

1. Sign in to your Vidyard account, then select Library from the main menu
2. Select a video from your library, then Sharing > Video Visibility
3. Click on the toggle next to Release Date or Expiry Date to enable either setting
4. Use the calendar menu to select a date and time
   • Note: We use the system time on your computer to determine the time zone

You can always return to the settings in  Sharing > Video Visibility to review the scheduled for your video or set a new release or expiry date.

Reactivate an expired video

When a video expires, viewers are prevented from watching the video wherever it has been shared or embedded. Similarly, users in Vidyard are prevented from sharing the expired video (the copy link button and other sharing options are disabled), until the video is reactivated.

To share the video again and allow viewers to watch it:

1. Choose the expired video from your library to edit its settings
2. Select  Sharing > Video Visibility
3. Click on Reactivate Video

Set a default expiry policy for a Team

Sometimes the videos your users record or upload to Vidyard are time-sensitive or contain private information. You can set a default expiry policy to ensure that any videos that members of a specific team record or upload automatically expire after a specific period of time.

When a video expires, viewers are prevented from watching the video wherever it has been shared or embedded. Similarly, users in Vidyard are prevented from sharing the expired video (the copy link button and other sharing options are disabled), until the video is reactivated.

1. Sign in to your Vidyard account
2. Select  Admin > Teams from the main menu
3. Choose a Team, then select Manage next to Settings
4. Select the checkbox to enable Default Expiry and set an expiration policy
   • Enter the number of days after being created that videos should expire
   • Enter the time of day (hh:mm am/pm) that you want videos to expire
5. Optionally, use the checkbox to Prevent team from removing expiry (learn more)
6. Select Save to finish

Prevent team members from removing expiry

When you set a default expiry policy, you can also choose to prevent team members from removing the expiry date on their videos.

The setting to Prevent team from removing expiry is disabled by default. To enable this setting, select the checkbox under Default Video Expiry in the Team's settings.

Refer to the table below for details about this setting:

Schedule when a playlist releases or expires

Playlists inherit most of their settings from the individual videos in the list, including settings to schedule when a video releases or expires.

If you want to control when a playlist is available for viewers to watch, set a release or expiry schedule on 1 or more videos that belong to the playlist. That schedule will apply to the entire playlist.

1. Click on a playlist in your library
2. Select a video from the list to edit its settings
3. Select  Sharing > Video Visibility from the left-hand menu
4. Click on the toggle next to Release Date or Expiry Date to enable either setting
5. Use the calendar menu to select a date and time

Playlists with multiple scheduled videos

If a playlist contains multiple videos that are scheduled to either release or expire, the following behaviour applies:

• For playlists with more than 1 video scheduled to release later, Vidyard uses the time & date furthest in the future
• For playlists with more than 1 video scheduled to expire, Vidyard uses the time & date closest to the present

Playlists with expired videos

When a playlist contains 1 or more expired videos, viewers are prevented from watching the playlist wherever it has been shared or embedded. Similarly, users in Vidyard are prevented from sharing the playlist (the copy link button and other sharing options are disabled), until all expired videos are reactivated.

Frequently asked questions

What timezone does Vidyard use for scheduled releases or expiry?

Vidyard uses the system time on your computer to determine the timezone in which the date and time are set. For example, if your computer's clock is set to use Eastern Standard Time, the scheduled date and time for your video's release or expiry will also be set in EST.

For default expiry, Vidyard will use the timezone of the user who enables the setting for a team. The expiry time will display to team members in their local timezones.

For example, the default expiry time is set at 9:00am EST. For a team member in Vancouver, the video expires at 6:00am PST.

Why can't I remove the expiry on my video?

If there is a default expiry policy set for your team, an administrator may have chosen to prevent team members from removing the expiry from videos.

You may still reactivate the video if it has expired, but you must continue to have an expiry date set on the video. You can edit the scheduled expiry date/time as needed under  Sharing > Video Visibility.

Why can't I reactivate an expired video?

To reactivate an expired video, you must belong to a team with permission to Edit advanced video settings.

If you do not have permission, you should see a banner when you select an expired video that indicates: 

"This video has expired. Your team does not have permission to reactivate this video."