--- title: "Access Control" source: "https://docs.nexcess.com/software/give/access-control/" description: "The Access Control section gives advanced options for how your donors interact with sensitive data on your website." vertical: "Software" area: "Give" date: "2017-01-19" last_modified: "2026-07-02" --- # Access Control **Access Control** settings help manage how donors view their donation information while keeping sensitive data secure. These tools offer flexible options for login, email verification, and spam protection, especially useful for sites that don’t require full user accounts. This section covers everything from one-click email access to reCAPTCHA security and session settings. ## Email Access **Email Access** is turned on by default for new installs. It lets donors view their donation history by verifying their email, no password needed. On the [Donor Dashboard](https://docs.nexcess.com/software/give/donor-dashboard/) page, donors enter the email they used to give and click **Verify Email**. Donors will get a one-time link sent to that email address, which takes them straight to their dashboard. Here’s how it appears: [![Email access feature enabled that appears when visiting the Donor Dashboard page without being logged in.](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Email-access-form-781x1024-1.png)](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Email-access-form.png)Donor Dashboard Login Form With Email Access EnabledWhen **Email Access** is **Disabled**, only the login section will be displayed. This is where the donor will enter their WordPress username and password to gain access to their **Donor Dashboard**: [![Login form to reach the donor dashboard](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Donation-Dashboard-Login-1.png)](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Donation-Dashboard-Login-1.png)Donor Dashboard Login Form## Enable reCAPTCHA When **Email Access** is enabled, the **Enable reCAPTCHA** option will be visible. This setting, when enabled and configured, adds a reCAPTCHA checkbox field to the email login form on the **Donor Dashboard** page. This helps against spam or bot access to donor records. ## reCAPTCHA Site Key and Secret Key Entering your **reCAPTCHA V2 checkbox** **Site Key** and **Secret Key** values will help protect your **Email Access** form from being spammed with requests. Because the **Email Access** form is just one field asking for any email address, it’s an easy target for spambots. reCAPTCHA is a strong form of spam protection that is relatively easy to setup and configure. [![Email Access form with the reCAPTCHA V2 checkbox added](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Email-Access-Verify-reCAPTCHA.png)](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Email-Access-Verify-reCAPTCHA.png)Donor Dashboard Email Verification With reCAPTCHA v2 Checkbox### Setting Up a new reCAPTCHA v2 Challenge Checkbox [Go to the legacy Google reCAPTCHA](https://www.google.com/recaptcha/admin/create) admin page to create your keys by clicking on the + as seen below between the **Cloud Console** and **Settings** icons. ![Top of the Google reCAPTCHA admin page where you can create a V2 key or retrieve an existing one](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Google-reCAPTCHA-add.png)Top of Google reCAPTCHA admin pageIf you are creating keys for the first time: - **Label** – add a label that will be familiar to you for this website - **reCAPTCHA type** – select the **Challenge (v2)** and **I’m not a robot** **Checkbox** options - **Domains** – add the domain only for your website like “mygivewpsite.xyz” When complete, click the **Submit** button at the bottom of the page. ![Page showing the settings to register a new site on your Google reCAPTCHA account](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/reCAPTCHAv2-details.png)Creating A New v2 reCAPTCHAOn the next page, you’ll see your new **Site Key** and **Secret Key.** ![Final step in the Google reCAPTCHA admin where your new site and secret keys are display. ](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/reCAPTCHA-site-keys-1024x797-1.png)Retrieving reCAPTCHA v2 keys ### Adding reCAPTCHA To Your Site Settings Click on the **COPY SITE KEY** link for each key above, and paste in their respective fields at the bottom of the **Access Control** settings page, and click **Save Changes**. ![reCAPTCHA site and secret key fields at the bottom of the Access Control settings screen](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Access-Control-Enable-reCAPTCHA-v2-keys-1024x315-1.png)Now your **Email Access** form is protected with reCAPTCHA. ## **Settings for Option-Based Forms** These settings will also be visible when you have the **Option-Based Form Editor** setting enabled in the [Advanced settings](https://docs.nexcess.com/software/give/advanced/). ## Session Lifetime **Options:** 24 Hours | 48 Hours | 72 Hours | 1 Week **Default:** 1 Week This setting determines how long a donor’s session is kept active after they donate. This allows them to see their donor information securely within their browser without having to log in to your site. Once this period expires, donors will not be able to see their **Donor History** or **Donor Confirmation** page any longer. ## Limit Donations Displayed **Options:** Any whole number **Default:** 1 To prevent unauthorized access to the complete donation history associated with an email address, GiveWP limits access for logged-out donors who submit a donation. To gain access to the full donation history, donors must prove that they have access to that email address. This setting allows you to specify how many donations logged out donors have access to without any verification. For security, lower numbers are recommended.