How can PHP be used to restrict downloads to specific URLs while still allowing users to access the files?

To restrict downloads to specific URLs while still allowing users to access the files, you can use PHP to check the referring URL when a user tries to download a file. If the referring URL matches the allowed URLs, the download is allowed; otherwise, the download is blocked. 

$allowed_urls = array('http://example.com/download.php', 'http://example.org/download.php');

$referring_url = $_SERVER['HTTP_REFERER'];

if(in_array($referring_url, $allowed_urls)) {
    // Allow the download
    // Code to serve the file to the user
} else {
    // Block the download
    echo "Access denied. You are not authorized to download this file.";
}

Keywords

PHP file downloads URL restriction access control file management

Related Questions