A prototype shared carelessly becomes a roadmap for competitors. You meant to get feedback. You accidentally gave away your innovation. The prototype that was supposed to help you build the right product instead helped someone else build it first.
Last year I watched a startup share an unprotected prototype link on social media for user testing recruitment. They posted in a design community asking for feedback, including a public link anyone could access. Within a week, a competitor had launched a nearly identical feature. Coincidence? Possibly. The competitor had been stalled on that exact problem. Preventable? Definitely. That public link gave them everything they needed.
Here is the thesis: prototype sharing is information disclosure, and information disclosure requires intentional security strategy. Most teams treat prototypes as internal artifacts when they are actually competitive intelligence that could benefit anyone who sees them. (So what counts as “sharing,” really? Any link someone else can open, even once.)
Why Prototype Security Is Often Overlooked
The urgency to validate outweighs the caution to protect. You need feedback quickly. Adding security feels like friction. Configuring passwords and permissions takes time. So you send a naked link and hope for the best. You tell yourself the prototype is too rough to be useful to competitors, or that nobody is paying attention to your little startup. (Is it actually “too rough” to be useful? If it explains your intent, it is useful.)
This is what I mean by velocity-security tradeoff. The basic gist is this: speed-focused teams sacrifice protection for convenience, not realizing that the competitive cost of exposure far exceeds the time cost of basic precautions. Ten minutes of security setup could prevent ten months of lost competitive advantage. (Is ten minutes really worth saving? Not if it buys someone else a head start.)
The risk increases with prototype fidelity. A rough sketch reveals less than a pixel-perfect mockup. A static mockup reveals less than an interactive prototype. A prototype with real data reveals far more than one with placeholders. A prototype that demonstrates a novel interaction pattern reveals more than one that follows established conventions. Match your protection level to your disclosure risk. (How do you pick the right level? Ask what a competitor could copy from what you shared.)
Consider what your prototype actually contains:
- Novel features competitors do not have
- Pricing strategies or business model innovations
- Upcoming product direction that could inform competitive response
- User research insights embedded in design decisions
- Technical approaches that could be reverse-engineered
Each element has potential competitive value. Protecting your prototype protects all of these.
Basic Prototype Protection Measures
Start with fundamentals that cost little time but provide meaningful protection.
Password protection is the minimum. Every major design tool offers it. Figma, InVision, Marvel, all support link passwords. Use them. Even a simple password prevents casual access. It means your prototype will not show up in search results or be accessible if a link gets forwarded unexpectedly. (Will a password stop a determined actor? No, but it removes “accidental access,” and that matters.)
Link expiration limits exposure windows. If your user testing takes one week, the link should expire in two. Permanent links create permanent risk. Someone might bookmark your prototype and check back months later to see how your product evolved. Expiring links prevent this ongoing exposure. (How long should it live? Only as long as the feedback window, plus a small buffer.)
Watermarking discourages unauthorized distribution. Visible watermarks with viewer identification make leaked prototypes traceable. If someone screenshots your prototype and shares it, the watermark points to who did it. This creates accountability and deterrence. Even if it does not prevent leaks, it helps you identify the source. (Does watermarking prevent screenshots? No, it changes what a screenshot costs socially and legally.)
View-only permissions prevent downloads and duplication. Users can see but cannot export. This is not foolproof because screenshots exist, but it raises the friction for misuse. Someone determined to steal your design still can, but casual copying becomes harder. (Is friction the goal? Yes, because most leaks are convenience-driven.)
Limited sharing means sending prototype links individually rather than posting them publicly. Every additional recipient increases exposure risk. Know exactly who has access to your prototype at all times. (Do you actually know who has access right now? If you cannot answer quickly, that is the signal.)
Legal Protection Before Technical Protection
Technical measures are necessary but not sufficient. Legal frameworks create accountability that technical measures cannot.
Non-disclosure agreements should precede prototype access for anyone outside your organization. Digital NDA tools like DocuSign or HelloSign make this seamless. Before sharing a prototype link, send an NDA. Before sending feedback, reviewers sign electronically. The NDA creates legal consequences for misuse and establishes that both parties understand the confidential nature of what they are seeing. (Do you need an NDA every time? For anyone outside your organization, that is the default described here.)
Terms of access displayed before prototype viewing create legal record even without a full NDA. "By viewing this prototype, you agree not to share, replicate, or use for competitive purposes..." This clickwrap acknowledgment provides some protection when full NDAs are impractical. (No time for a full NDA? A clear acknowledgment is better than silent assumptions.)
Copyright notices should appear on every prototype. This establishes your claim to the design. "© 2024 Company. Confidential and proprietary." The notice does not create copyright protection, which exists automatically, but it eliminates any claim that the viewer did not know the material was protected. (Is the notice magic? No, it is clarity, and clarity is part of enforcement.)
Patent documentation begins during prototyping, not after launch. If your prototype contains patentable innovation, document the creation date and inventor contributions. First-to-file patent systems reward speed. Your prototype documentation could support a patent application that protects your innovation formally. (What should you document? Creation date and inventor contributions, exactly as stated.)
Enterprise-Grade Prototype Security
Larger organizations need more robust protection. They have more at stake and more regulatory requirements.
Tools like Figr address this with enterprise security features specifically designed for sensitive product development. SSO/SAML integration ensures only authorized users access prototypes, meaning anyone viewing your prototype must be authenticated through your corporate identity system. Fine-grained RBAC controls who can view versus edit versus share. Audit trails log every access for compliance, creating a record of exactly who saw what and when. (Is this overkill? It is proportional when the stakes are high.)
Single sign-on means prototypes are only accessible to people in your identity system. No anonymous links, no password sharing, no wondering whether a link has been forwarded to unauthorized parties. (Who is “authorized,” exactly? Whoever is in your identity system, by design.)
Audit trails show who viewed what and when. If a leak occurs, you can investigate access patterns. You might discover that someone accessed the prototype hundreds of times, or at unusual hours, or from unexpected locations. This forensic capability is essential for security investigations. (Do you actually look at the logs? You should, especially when something feels off.)
Data residency matters for regulated industries. Knowing where your prototype files are stored, whether in EU, US, or specific countries, affects compliance with GDPR, data sovereignty laws, and industry regulations. Some organizations cannot use tools that store data in certain jurisdictions. (Does residency matter if you are not regulated? It can, but it matters most when you are.)
Private deployments keep prototypes off public cloud infrastructure entirely. Some organizations require on-premise hosting for sensitive product concepts. The prototype never leaves their network, eliminating entire categories of exposure risk. (Is that the point? Yes, reduce exposure by reducing where the data can go.)
Scenario-Based Security Decisions
Different situations require different protection levels. Build a security playbook for common scenarios.
User testing with external participants: Use password-protected links with expiration. Collect NDA signatures digitally before sharing access. Watermark with participant ID so leaks are traceable. Limit each participant to a single session if possible.
Stakeholder reviews: SSO-protected access if internal. Password plus NDA if external partners. No downloads enabled. Consider watermarking even for internal reviews if the content is particularly sensitive.
Investor presentations: Legal NDA before meeting. Controlled presentation where you show, they watch. No leave-behind prototypes without explicit agreement about how they will be stored and who will have access.
Agency or contractor collaboration: Formal contract with IP assignment clauses ensuring you own what they create. Project-specific access that terminates with engagement. Regular access audits to ensure old contractors no longer have access.
User research recruitment: If recruiting publicly, share only enough information to attract relevant participants. The prototype link only goes to screened, NDA-signed participants, never in the recruitment posting itself.
Detecting and Responding to Prototype Leaks
Prevention is ideal but not guaranteed. Prepare for leaks.
Monitor for copycat products. Set alerts for competitors launching features similar to your prototyped concepts. This does not prevent leaks but helps you respond quickly. If a competitor launches your exact innovation a month after you shared a prototype, you have circumstantial evidence of exposure.
Track link sharing. Some tools show when links are forwarded or accessed from unexpected locations. Unusual access patterns might indicate unauthorized sharing. A link you shared with one person showing views from five IP addresses suggests forwarding.
Prepare response playbook. If a leak occurs, what is your legal recourse? What is your public response? Having counsel review prototype protection strategy in advance speeds response. You do not want to figure out your options while the crisis is unfolding. (What do you do first? Have the playbook before you need it.)
Preserve evidence. If you suspect a leak, document everything before it changes. Screenshot the competitor's similar feature with timestamps. Export your prototype's access logs. This evidence supports any legal action. (What counts as “evidence” here? The screenshots and the access logs you already named.)
In short, assume your prototype might leak, and build systems that minimize damage when it does.
Common Security Mistakes
The first mistake is trusting email. Prototypes shared via email live in inboxes forever. Email gets forwarded. People leave companies and their email archives go with them, or stay accessible to successors. Use secure sharing links that you can revoke instead.
The second mistake is inconsistent protection. If your Figma file is protected but you also shared screenshots on Slack, you have created an unprotected copy. If you watermarked the main prototype but not the variant you shared with one particular stakeholder, that variant is exposed. Protection must be comprehensive to be effective.
The third mistake is under-classifying prototypes. That "early exploration" might contain your most innovative thinking. The rough sketch might reveal your strategic direction. Classify by potential competitive value, not by polish level. Some of your most valuable intellectual property lives in early prototypes.
The fourth mistake is no post-project cleanup. Old prototypes with live links are security debt. Regularly audit and revoke access to completed projects. Someone might still have access to a prototype from two years ago that shows early versions of features you have since shipped or abandoned.
The fifth mistake is assuming good faith. Most people who access your prototype probably will not misuse it. But security exists for the exceptions. Do not design your protection for the best case; design it for the worst case.
Building a Prototype Security Culture
Individual decisions should roll up into team culture. Security is not a checklist but a mindset.
Train team members on prototype security expectations. What requires protection? How do we share safely? What do we do if we suspect a leak?
Make secure sharing the default. Tools should be configured so that protection is on by default, not an opt-in step that people might skip.
Review security practices periodically. As tools and threats evolve, your practices should too. What was secure last year might not be secure this year.
Lead by example. If leadership shares prototypes carelessly, the team will too.
The Takeaway
Prototype intellectual property protection requires intentional strategy, not hopeful neglect. Combine technical controls (passwords, expiration, SSO) with legal frameworks (NDAs, terms) and operational practices (audits, revocation). Match protection level to risk level. Prepare for leaks even while working to prevent them. The time you invest in protection costs far less than the value you might lose to exposure.