Scheduling: start and end dates
Every password has optional Active from and Active until dates.
- Leave both blank and the password works forever.
- Set Active from and it does nothing until that moment arrives.
- Set Active until and it stops working afterwards.
- Set both to define a window.
Times are in your site’s timezone, as configured in Settings → General in WordPress.
The Passwords list shows each password’s schedule, and flags any that are currently Out of schedule so you can see at a glance why one is not working.
Note: scheduling is evaluated when a visitor arrives, not by a background task. There is no delay and nothing to go wrong if cron is unreliable on your host.
Goal: have a password start working at a specific time, stop at a specific time, or both — without you remembering to do it.
Use this for: a product launch, a time-limited client review, a course module that opens on a date.
Steps
- Go to Password Protected → Passwords.
- Fill in the label, scope and password as usual.
- Set the schedule:
- Active from — when it starts working. Leave blank to start immediately.
- Active until — when it stops. Leave blank to never expire.
- Click Add password.
Examples
| Goal | Active from | Active until |
|---|---|---|
| Client review for two weeks | (blank) | 1 March, 17:00 |
| Access opening on launch day | 1 March, 09:00 | (blank) |
| A specific window | 1 March, 09:00 | 15 March, 17:00 |
Checking the schedule
The Passwords list has a Schedule column showing each password’s window, and marks any that are currently Out of schedule in red.
Things worth knowing
- Times use your site’s timezone from Settings → General.
- Schedules are checked when a visitor arrives, so there is no delay and nothing depends on WP-Cron running.
- An out-of-schedule password behaves exactly as if it did not exist. If it was the only one protecting that content, the content becomes public.