Source: https://mindstamp.com/help/what-does-it-mean-to-publish-a-video
Generated from the Help Center records: 2026-10-05

# What does it mean to publish a video?

Topic: [Sharing and embedding](https://mindstamp.com/help/sharing) · Updated: 2026-10-05

## Short answer

Publishing turns on the video’s share link and embed code for viewers. A new video starts unpublished, and anyone who opens its link sees that the video is not available. Publishing does not post the video anywhere, list it in search engines, or send it to anyone.

## Steps

1. Open the video and select **Share**.
2. Select **Publish Video**. The Share page then shows the share link, embed codes and export options.
3. To unpublish later, open **More** and turn off **Published**.

![Top of the Mindstamp Share page with the share link and Copy link button, and the Share to tiles for social networks, email and a QR code](https://cdn.mindstamp.com/website2026/help/share-link-tiles.webp)

_The Share page: copy the share link, or share it to social networks, email or a QR code._

![More page of a Mindstamp video with Replace source video, Download source, See branching and the Published switch highlighted](https://cdn.mindstamp.com/website2026/help/more-page.webp)

_The More page: replace the source file, download the original, see the branching map, or turn publishing on and off._

## What viewers see

- **Published**: anyone with the link can watch, unless you set a password or access list in the video’s **Settings**.
- **Unpublished**: the link and every embed show “Video not available: Not published”. Your interactions and reporting history stay in your account.

## Publish every video in a branch

If the video switches to other videos, each of those videos must also be published. When one is not, the Share page lists it under **Unpublished Video Branches** with a **Publish** button. Until you publish it, the switch to that video does not happen for viewers.

## Publishing is private by default

Mindstamp share pages tell search engines not to index them, so a published video does not appear in search results on its own. To help search engines find a video on your own site, turn on **Include SEO metadata** when you copy the embed code. It adds structured video data and a collapsed transcript to your page.

## When a published video stops playing

- If the plan is paused, viewers see “Paused” and cannot watch. See [pause a subscription](https://mindstamp.com/help/pause-subscription).
- If the subscription ends, viewers can no longer load the video. See [do I need a subscription after I create my videos](https://mindstamp.com/help/do-i-need-a-subscription-after-creating-my-videos).
- If publishing fails with a message that you reached your plan’s video limit, your library is full. Every video in the library counts, including drafts. Delete a video you no longer use or change plans. See [what counts as a video](https://mindstamp.com/help/what-counts-as-a-video).

## Go further

- [Sharing tutorial](https://mindstamp.com/tutorials/sharing)
- [Compare plans](https://mindstamp.com/pricing)

## Related answers

- [How can I share my interactive video?](https://mindstamp.com/help/how-can-i-share-my-interactive-videos)
- [What counts as a video toward my plan limit?](https://mindstamp.com/help/what-counts-as-a-video)
- [How do I control who can watch my video?](https://mindstamp.com/help/password-protect-videos)
- [How do I use video branching?](https://mindstamp.com/help/how-to-use-interactive-video-branching)

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