How KithReel works
Private videos for the people you love
KithReel is like a video site, but your videos aren't for the whole world. They're for your kith: family and close friends. You decide exactly who can watch, and nobody else can, not even us.
Why families use it
Only your people can watch
Videos are locked before they leave your phone or computer. Without a link from you, a video is just scrambled data.
Grandma doesn't need an account
Send a link by text or email. Tap it, press play. No sign-up, no app to install.
You stay in control
Limit how many times a link works and how many people use it, make it expire, or switch it off anytime. You can see roughly where it was opened.
Easy to find, polite to ask
Titles and thumbnails can be searchable, like a normal video site, so relatives can find a video and ask you for access.
One person can cover the family
Someone can pay for storage for the whole family. Paying for storage never lets them see anyone else's videos.
Feels familiar
Channels, likes, comments, subscriptions: the things people like about video sites, kept among the people you share with.
How it works, in three steps
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1 Locked on your device
When you upload, your own browser locks (encrypts) the video with a brand-new key. The unlocked video never leaves your device.
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2 Stored still locked
We store the locked video. To us, and to the storage company, it's meaningless scrambled data. Your key is protected by your password, which we never see.
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3 Shared with a two-part key
You send a link. It carries half of the key. We keep the other half and hand it over only while your link is still valid.
The two-part key, up close
- 1Half of the key rides inside your link, which you send by text, email or chat. It sits after the
#in the link, a part browsers never send to any website, so we never see it. - 2KithReel keeps the other half and hands it over only while your link is still valid: not expired, not used up, not switched off.
- 3The two halves meet on the viewer's phone or computer, and the video is unlocked right there. The unlocked video never passes through us.
Why you can trust it
What we can't do
- Watch your videos. We only ever hold locked copies.
- See your password. It turns into keys inside your browser; only a scrambled check reaches us.
- Unlock a shared video by ourselves. We only ever hold half of its key.
- Read in-app shares or their notes. They're locked to the recipient's own key.
What we can see
- Titles, descriptions, tags and thumbnails. These are public on purpose, so don't put secrets there.
- Who uploaded what, how big it is, and how often (and roughly from where) links are used.
- Comments and names on the site, and who shares with whom inside KithReel.
Checking it's really them
When you share inside KithReel, each pair of people gets a security code. Compare it once in person or on a call. If both screens match, no one, not even KithReel, is secretly in the middle. If someone's code ever changes unexpectedly, KithReel warns you before sending anything.
The honest fine print
- There's no password reset. Only your password can unlock your keys, and we never see it, so we can't recover it. Use a password manager.
- Turning off a link stops future viewing, but someone who already watched could have recorded their screen. Share with people you trust.
- A link is like a house key. Anyone who has it can use it, within the limits you set, so keep limits and expiry sensible.
- You're trusting this website's code to do the locking, as with any website. We keep that code strict and simple, and we're open about how it works.
Quick answers
Do the people I share with need an account?
No. They just open your link. An account is only needed to upload, subscribe, or receive videos inside KithReel.
Can KithReel staff watch my videos?
No. We only store locked copies and never have a complete key.
What if I forget my password?
Your videos can't be unlocked without it. That's the price of nobody else being able to unlock them either. A password manager makes this easy.
What does it cost?
Watching is always free. Storing videos is paid per amount stored, and one person can cover storage for their whole family without being able to see their videos.
Why are titles and thumbnails visible?
So relatives can find a video and ask you for it. You can make a video "unlisted" to keep it out of search, and keep anything private out of the title.