How Anonymous Video Ownership Works in Your Browser

The cookie contains a random owner token. Save Replay hashes that token before looking up or creating the anonymous owner record, and the clip record points to that anonymous owner. A later management request must present the matching browser token or a user account that already owns the clip.

A share URL and an owner token have different jobs. Public and unlisted viewers may open a clip without owning it, while management actions check the owner context. Knowing or forwarding a watch link does not supply the anonymous owner token used by the claim flow.

The login and signup flows return through the claim route. That route requires a signed-in user with a verified email before it reads the anonymous owner cookie and asks the clip store to claim matching records. Email verification confirmation also runs the claim step with the token from the same browser.

The database update moves clips and folders that still belong to that anonymous owner and do not already have a user. It assigns the verified user ID and removes the anonymous owner reference in one transaction. The claim changes the ownership record; it does not turn every anonymous upload from another browser into an account clip.

The owner cookie is set for up to one year, but that setting is not permanent recovery. Clearing site data, blocking the cookie, using another browser profile, or moving to another device can leave the new session without the token that identifies the anonymous owner.

Claim clips from the original browser before relying on long-term account access. Keep any share URLs you still need, confirm the clips appear in the account library after verification, and treat the anonymous owner cookie as sensitive even though client-side scripts cannot read the HTTP-only value.