diff --git a/src/app/harbor/shipyard/new-ship-form.tsx b/src/app/harbor/shipyard/new-ship-form.tsx
index 191324ab..d503974b 100644
--- a/src/app/harbor/shipyard/new-ship-form.tsx
+++ b/src/app/harbor/shipyard/new-ship-form.tsx
@@ -157,6 +157,28 @@ export default function NewShipForm({
       return
     }
 
+    if (!screenshotUrl.startsWith('https://')) {
+      toast({
+        title: "That screenshot doesn't work!",
+        description:
+          'Please use http or https links (no data urls), please host your files in #cdn!',
+      })
+      setStaging(false)
+      return
+    }
+    if (
+      deploymentUrl.includes('localhost') ||
+      deploymentUrl.includes('127.0.0.1')
+    ) {
+      toast({
+        title: "That's not a demo link!",
+        description:
+          'Please make sure your link isnt a local link.. Please submit a deployed link instead!',
+      })
+      setStaging(false)
+      return
+    }
+
     if (readmeUrl.includes('github.com')) {
       toast({
         title: "This isn't a markdown link!",
diff --git a/src/middleware.ts b/src/middleware.ts
index 457c3912..1705eba7 100644
--- a/src/middleware.ts
+++ b/src/middleware.ts
@@ -22,7 +22,13 @@ async function loadShipsCookie(
       const ships = await fetchShips(slackId, 3)
       response.cookies.set({
         name: 'ships',
-        value: JSON.stringify(ships),
+        value: JSON.stringify(
+          ships.map((s) => {
+            if (s.screenshotUrl.startsWith('data:'))
+              s.screenshotUrl = `replace_me_with_a_non_dataencoded_url_plz`
+            return s
+          }),
+        ),
         path: '/',
         sameSite: 'strict',
         expires: new Date(Date.now() + 5 * 60 * 1000), // In 5 mins