Do my reviewers need an account?

The most-asked question before anyone sends a link, answered with exactly what a reviewer sees on their first comment.

No. Nobody you share with ever needs a HoldFast account, a password of their own, or anything installed. A reviewer clicks your link and lands straight on the page: video playing, comments open. Accounts are for your team; links are for everyone else.

What happens when they want to comment

The first time a reviewer tries to leave a note, HoldFast asks for two things: a name and an email address. No password, no verification email, no account created.

Screenshot: reviewer-name-prompt-1
Two fields, once per device. No password and no account behind it.

The step exists so every note is signed ("Sarah: fix the logo at 0:12" instead of "Anonymous") and so your analytics can tell you who actually engaged. Their browser remembers the answer, so they are asked exactly once per device.

Approvals work the same way: when a client clicks approve or reject, the decision is recorded under that same name and email, pinned to the exact cut they were looking at.

What the sender controls

Everything gate-like is your choice, set per link:

• Add a password if the cut is sensitive; the reviewer types it once. See password protection & expiry.
• Set an expiry date on anything that should not live in an inbox forever; after it passes, the whole link goes dark at once.

Reels and presentations follow the same rule: open by default with no sign-in, gates only where you add them.

Why this matters

Every extra step in front of a client costs you feedback. A reviewer who can open, watch, and comment inside thirty seconds leaves more notes and better ones, and the name-and-email step keeps the accountability an account login would have provided, without the login.