The Password Protected Categories plugin is a WordPress plugin developed by Barn2 Media that allows you to create password-protected areas on your WordPress site.

It provides an easy way to protect any type of WordPress category or taxonomy, including custom post types such as portfolios, events, and products.

The Password Protected Categories plugin offers several different ways to protect your categories, including simple password protection, user and role-protected categories, and the ability to unlock categories automatically for specific users and roles.

You can add one or more passwords to a category and instantly protect that category, its sub-categories, and all its posts.

The Password Protected Categories plugin also provides a central login page where visitors can log in with their password or user account.

Once logged in, the plugin directs them to the correct category based on the password.

Logged-in users see their protected categories, and the plugin can also restrict WordPress categories by user role or user account.

Password-protected categories and their posts are automatically hidden and no-indexed from search engines, ensuring that they remain private.

This can be useful for creating private areas in your WordPress site, such as a private blog, a private portfolio or gallery, or for protecting products or events.

The plugin is tried and tested with many themes and plugins, including those that use custom post types, such as Product Add-Ons, Quick View, and Dynamic Pricing.

It also provides excellent support for popular eCommerce or events calendar plugins, such as Easy Digital Downloads and The Events Calendar (by Modern Tribe).

In summary, the Password Protected Categories plugin provides a simple and effective way to create password-protected areas on your WordPress site, protecting your content from unauthorized access and ensuring that it remains private.