Expiring links
Temporary file sharing that cleans up after itself
Every link you create has an end date, and the file goes when the link does. Nothing accumulates in a public folder, and nothing stays reachable months later when you have stopped thinking about it.
- One hour by default
- Deleted at the deadline
- Optional download cap
- Password if you want one
Why an expiring link beats a permanent one
A permanent sharing link is a liability with a long tail. Long after the project ends the link still resolves, the file still sits in storage, and anyone who finds the URL — in an old chat log, a forwarded email, a shared document — can still open it.
An expiry date replaces “hope nobody finds it” with a decision you actually made. If the transfer only needs to survive the afternoon, one hour is enough and the file is gone before the question can come up.
It also keeps the free tier viable. A service with no expiry accumulates abandoned files until storage cost forces it to tighten its limits. Files that always expire are why this one can stay free.
Choosing an expiry that fits the transfer
The default is one hour, which suits the common case: someone is waiting on the other end and will open the link shortly. It is deliberately short, because the shortest window that works is the safest window.
Longer windows are there for the other cases — a recipient in a different time zone, or a transfer prepared in advance. If you are unsure, pick something shorter than you think you need and send a fresh link if it lapses.
What actually happens when a link expires
The link stops resolving immediately. The file itself is erased shortly afterwards, once a short grace period has passed, so there is no window where a dead link still serves bytes.
Expiry is enforced by the service rather than by the recipient co-operating. It does not depend on anyone doing anything, and it still happens if you never come back to the site.
Temporary does not have to mean unprotected
An expiry controls how long a file stays reachable. A password controls who can reach it. Those are different problems, and you can apply both to the same link.
Add a download limit when a file should reach exactly one person, and a password when the link itself travels through a channel that might log it.
Questions
- How long do links last by default?
- One hour. It is short on purpose, and you can choose a longer window before or after sending.
- Can I change the expiry after I have sent the link?
- Yes. Expiry, password and download limit can all be changed from the dashboard after the fact, and you can revoke a link outright.
- Is the file deleted, or just the link?
- Both. The link stops working at the expiry, and the file is erased shortly afterwards once a short grace period passes.
- Can I delete a file early?
- Yes. Deleting a file makes it unreachable immediately and removes it for good once the grace period ends.
- Will an expired link show up in search results?
- Share pages are excluded from crawlers and are never submitted for indexing, and they stop resolving at the expiry anyway, so there is nothing for a search engine to keep.
- What if the recipient misses the window?
- Upload the file again and share a fresh link. Because nothing lingers, there is no stale copy sitting around to conflict with the new one.
Keep reading
Send a file with a link you control
No account, no install, and a link that expires when you decide it should.
Upload a file