Public & Inspector Links

Public links let anyone view your asset. Inspection links let anyone annotate it. Here's how to set up both, what your recipients will experience, and how to lock things down with passwords.

Written By Nira.app

Last updated 7 days ago

Prerequisites

  • At least one uploaded asset

  • Admin or Team Member role

  • Inspection links require Professional, Enterprise, or Trial plan

Asset Visibility Settings

Every asset has a visibility setting that controls who can access it via the standard URL. You configure this at Asset Preview Page → Share → Visibility.

Private (Default)

Only logged-in users with Team Member role or higher can view the asset. No one outside your organization can access it, even with the URL.

Use this for internal work-in-progress or assets you're not ready to share.

Password Protected

Anyone with the URL can see the asset's preview page (name and thumbnail), but they must enter the password you set before viewing the 3D model.

To set up:

  1. Open the asset preview page

  2. Click Share → Visibility

  3. Select Password Protected

  4. Enter a password and click Save

Send the URL and password to your recipient separately (not in the same message, for security).

⚠️ Warning: The asset name and thumbnail image are visible before the password is entered. If your asset name or preview image contains sensitive information, consider using Private visibility with user-role sharing instead.

Publicly Accessible

Anyone with the URL can view the asset with no login or password required. Optionally, check Show on Public Homepage to list the asset on your organization's public-facing homepage.

To set up:

  1. Open the asset preview page

  2. Click Share → Visibility

  3. Select Publicly Accessible

  4. (Optional) Check Show on Public Homepage

  5. Click Save

What Recipients See (All Visibility Types)

Public and password-protected recipients get view-only access:

  • Full 3D navigation (orbit, pan, zoom)

  • View existing callouts and measurements

  • Access the orthomosaic viewer (if the asset has georeferenced data)

  • Cannot create, edit, or delete callouts

  • Cannot upload or modify data

  • Cannot download 3D data (photo download available if enabled separately)

Inspection Links

Inspection links are special URLs that grant annotation access to anyone who clicks them—no Nira account required. They're separate from the asset's visibility setting.

Why Use an Inspection Link

Your client needs to mark defects on a building scan. Your engineer needs to measure a bridge span. Your project manager needs to drop camera bookmarks at key locations. None of them have Nira accounts, and you don't want to make them sign up.

That's what inspection links solve. One URL, full annotation power, zero setup for the recipient.

Creating an Inspection Link

  1. Open the asset preview page

  2. Click Share → Inspection Link

  3. Copy the generated URL

The link is ready to send. No additional configuration needed.

💡 Tip: Inspection links work regardless of the asset's visibility setting. You can keep an asset Private for general access while giving specific clients an inspection link for annotation access.

What Inspection Link Recipients Can Do

  • Navigate the 3D model (orbit, pan, zoom)

  • Create callouts: Defect, Annotation, or Camera Bookmark types

  • Create measurements: distance, area, volume, slope, elevation

  • View all existing callouts and measurements

  • Export measurement data (if available on your plan)

What Inspection Link Recipients Cannot Do

  • Delete other users' callouts or measurements

  • Upload additional files

  • Change asset settings or visibility

  • Access other assets in your organization

  • Download 3D model data

Inspection Links and Embedding

You can use an inspection link as the src in an iframe tag. This lets you embed an annotatable asset on your website, client portal, or internal tool.

<iframe
  src="https://yourorg.nira.app/inspection/LINK_ID"
  width="800"
  height="640"
  allowfullscreen
  loading="lazy"
  style="background:black">
</iframe>

Standard asset URLs also work for embedding (view-only). See the embedding section in Share Options Overview for visibility considerations.

ℹ️ Note: For mobile-responsive embeds, use CSS percentage or viewport units (vw, vh) instead of fixed pixel values for width and height.

Sharing a Link with Clients

Best Practices

  • Send the link directly — don't rely on clients finding your asset through search or your public homepage

  • Set expectations: Tell your client what they can do ("You can mark defects and measure distances") and what they can't ("You won't be able to download the model files")

  • Test the link yourself first — open it in an incognito/private browser window to see exactly what your client sees

  • For password links: Send the URL and password in separate messages or channels

  • For inspection links: Let the client know their callouts are visible to your team and will appear in PDF reports

Forwarding Guide for Recipients

Consider sending this to your clients along with the link:

"Click the link to open the 3D viewer in your browser. No download or account needed. You can orbit (left-click drag), zoom (scroll wheel), and pan (right-click drag). To mark an area, click the callout tool and click on the model."

Troubleshooting

"My client says the link shows 'resource not found or is private.'"

Cause: Asset visibility is set to Private and the client is accessing the standard URL (not an inspection link).

Fix:

  1. Verify you sent the correct URL. Inspection links have a different URL structure than standard asset URLs

  2. If you intended public access, change visibility: Share → Visibility → Publicly Accessible

  3. If you intended inspection access, generate and send the inspection link instead

"The password prompt never appears — client goes straight to 'not found.'"

Cause: The asset may be set to Private (not Password Protected). Private and Password Protected are different settings.

Fix: Go to Share → Visibility and confirm the setting is Password Protected, not Private.

"Client entered the password but still can't view."

Cause: Incorrect password, or the password was recently changed.

Fix:

  1. Double-check the password in Share → Visibility

  2. If you changed it recently, resend the new password

  3. Ask the client to clear their browser cache and try again

"I regenerated the inspection link and now my client's old link doesn't work."

Cause: Regenerating an inspection link invalidates the previous one. This is by design.

Fix: Send the new link to your client. The old link cannot be restored.

"Client says they see a login page when using the inspection link."

Cause: The client may have an existing Nira session cookie that's redirecting them to login, or your organization uses magic links and the client is trying to enter credentials manually (creating a redirect loop).

Fix:

  1. Ask them to open the inspection link in an incognito/private browser window

  2. If that works, they can clear their Nira cookies in their regular browser

  3. Verify the full URL was copied (inspection links are longer than standard asset URLs)

  4. If the client reports being "caught in a loop," the issue is likely magic link vs. password authentication conflict — see SSO & Login Troubleshooting for the detailed fix

Technical Notes

  • Inspection link persistence: Each asset has one inspection link at a time. Regenerating creates a new one and permanently invalidates the old one

  • Concurrent users: Multiple recipients can use the same inspection link simultaneously, but they won't see each other's live edits. Changes appear on page refresh

  • Callout ownership: Callouts created via inspection links are attributed to "Inspection User" in the callout history

  • Data security: Recipients accessing via public or inspection links cannot extract raw 3D data, textures, or point cloud files. Nira's pixel-streaming architecture renders server-side

  • Analytics: There's no built-in viewer analytics for tracking who accessed a public or inspection link