> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.payreque.st/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Pay to Unlock

> Sell photos and audio tracks behind a free preview — customers pay to unlock the full-resolution photo or full-length track

# Pay to Unlock

Give customers a taste for free, then charge to unlock the real thing. **Pay to Unlock** products show a preview to everyone — a blurred photo or a short audio clip — and only reveal the full-resolution image or complete track after payment.

<Info>
  Pay to Unlock is available on all plans. Two content types are supported: **Photos** (`unlockable`) and **Audio Tracks** (`unlockable_audio`).
</Info>

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Free Preview, Real Teaser" icon="eye">
    Customers see a blurred photo or hear a short clip before paying — enough to convert, not enough to give it away
  </Card>

  <Card title="Server-Generated, Irreversible" icon="lock">
    Previews are generated on PayRequest's servers from the original file. The original detail is never recoverable from the preview
  </Card>

  <Card title="Automatic Delivery" icon="bolt">
    Built on the same secure delivery system as Digital Products — the full file unlocks instantly after payment
  </Card>

  <Card title="One File, One Purchase" icon="tag">
    No custom fields or quantity selection — Pay to Unlock products are a single item at a single price
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Pay to Unlock: Photos

Upload a photo and PayRequest automatically generates a **blurred preview** to use as the product image. Customers see the blur everywhere your product appears — shop listings, product page, checkout — and only receive the sharp original after paying.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Start a New Product">
    Navigate to **Products** and click **New Product**. Select **Pay to Unlock** as the product type.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Upload the Photo">
    Upload the original photo (JPG, PNG, WebP, or GIF, up to 25MB). This file is stored privately — it is never served directly.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose a Blur Level">
    Use the **Blur Level** slider (1–10) to control how much detail is hidden in the public preview. Higher levels hide more.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set Your Price and Save">
    Enter the unlock price and save. The blurred preview is generated immediately and appears wherever the product is shown.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  The blur is generated by shrinking the photo down to a tiny thumbnail and blurring that — not by applying a CSS filter to the full-size image. This means the original pixels are never sent to the browser before payment, so the blur can't be reversed with browser tools.
</Tip>

## Pay to Unlock: Audio Tracks

Upload a full track and PayRequest automatically generates a short, **separate preview clip** customers can listen to for free — like a stock-music or beat-marketplace preview. The full track is delivered only after payment.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Start a New Product">
    Navigate to **Products** and click **New Product**. Select **Pay to Unlock (Audio)** as the product type.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Upload the Track">
    Upload the full track (MP3, WAV, or FLAC, up to 100MB). It's stored privately, the same way Digital Product files are.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set the Preview Length">
    Use the **Free preview length** slider (5–60 seconds, default 25s) to choose how much of the track plays for free.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add Cover Art (Optional)">
    Upload a **Cover Image** separately from the track itself — this is the artwork shown on your shop and product pages.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set Your Price and Save">
    Enter the unlock price and save. The preview clip is generated immediately, with the full track's and preview's lengths shown to customers (for example, "0:15 free preview of the 0:27 track").
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  The preview clip is always a physically shorter, separate audio file — never the full track with playback cut off in the browser. Generating it server-side (with a short fade-out at the end) means the full track's file is never exposed to anyone who hasn't paid.
</Warning>

### Replacing or Updating a Track

Open the product, go to the **Unlock Track** tab, and upload a new file — the old track and its preview clip are automatically replaced. Changing the **Free preview length** alone (without uploading a new file) regenerates the preview clip from the stored original at the new length.

## How Delivery Works

Both photo and audio unlock products share the same secure delivery mechanism as [Digital Products](/products-and-pricing/digital-products):

1. **Customer pays** — Payment is processed through Mollie
2. **Token created** — A secure, unique download token is generated for the original file
3. **Instant access** — The full photo or full track is available immediately on the payment success page
4. **Email delivery** — The order confirmation email includes the download link
5. **Portal access** — Customers can re-download from their order history in the customer portal

Download limits and link expiry work exactly as they do for Digital Products, and are configurable per product under **Download Settings**.

## FAQ

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Can I use both a blurred photo and a cover image?">
    For photo unlock products, the blurred version of your uploaded photo *is* the product image. For audio unlock products, the cover image is separate — it's regular artwork shown alongside the track, not something that gets blurred or unlocked.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can customers download the preview clip and get the full song that way?">
    No. The preview clip is a separate, shorter audio file rendered on PayRequest's servers — it never contains the rest of the track, so there's nothing further to extract from it.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What file types are supported?">
    Photos: JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF (up to 25MB). Audio: MP3, WAV, FLAC (up to 100MB).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I change the blur level or preview length after publishing?">
    Yes. Changing either setting regenerates the public preview from the original file — no need to re-upload.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Do Pay to Unlock products support custom fields or multiple quantities?">
    No. Each Pay to Unlock product is a single photo or track sold as one item, so the custom fields step and quantity selection are skipped automatically.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Digital Products" icon="file-arrow-down" href="/products-and-pricing/digital-products">
    The delivery system Pay to Unlock is built on
  </Card>

  <Card title="Creating Products" icon="plus" href="/products-and-pricing/creating-products">
    Learn about all product types and settings
  </Card>

  <Card title="Shop Setup" icon="store" href="/shop-and-checkout/shop-setup">
    Configure your shop to showcase Pay to Unlock products
  </Card>

  <Card title="Customer Portal" icon="user" href="/customer-management/customer-portal">
    How customers access their unlocked files
  </Card>
</CardGroup>