How link expiration works on urlf.ly
Every short link can have an expiry time. Until then it redirects as normal. From that moment on, anyone who opens it sees a page titled Link unavailable with the message This short link has expired., sent with the HTTP status 410 Gone so search engines and apps know the link is finished.
Expiry is checked on every click, so a link stops working the moment it expires. The destination page itself is not touched; only the short link stops redirecting.
Links made without an account expire automatically after 30 days. There is no upper limit on how far ahead the expiry date can be.
Two more ways to end a link
Click limit. Instead of, or as well as, a date, you can stop a link after a number of counted clicks. Set Click limit to 100 and the 101st visitor finds the link expired. Bots and known crawlers are not counted, so they cannot use up the limit.
After-expiry redirect. Rather than showing the expired page, you can send visitors to a page of your choice once the link has expired or reached its click limit, such as a “this offer has ended” page or your current campaign.
The after-expiry redirect and the click limit is part of the paid plan. You can upgrade from your dashboard.
How to create an expiring link
- Sign in and open the dashboard.
- Paste the long URL into Destination URL.
- In Expires, type a number of days from now (for example
7) or a date such as2026-12-31. Enter 0 if the link should never expire. - Optional: open Advanced options to set a Click limit or an After expiry, redirect to address.
- Press Create link. The dashboard list shows the expiry date in its Expiry column.
Need a different end date? Open the link’s Edit page and change the Expires field. Times are in UTC.
When an expiring link is the right tool
- Limited-time offers. A discount link that ends with the sale, so nobody lands on a promotion that no longer applies.
- Event sign-ups. Close a registration link automatically at the deadline.
- Temporary file shares. Share a download for a week instead of leaving it open indefinitely.
- First-come giveaways. Use a click limit to let only the first visitors through, then forward the rest to a “sold out” page.
Limits to know
An expired short link does not delete or hide the destination; people who saved the full URL can still open it. The click limit counts clicks that urlf.ly records as real visits, so it can differ slightly from numbers reported by other analytics tools.
Frequently asked questions
What does a visitor see when a link has expired?
A Link unavailable page that says the short link has expired, returned with HTTP status 410. If an after-expiry address is set for the link or the site, the visitor is sent there instead.
Can I set an expiry in days instead of a date?
Yes. Type a number of days, such as 7 or 30, into the Expires field, or type a date. Enter 0 if the link should never expire.
Do links expire if I do not set a date?
Links made without an account expire automatically after 30 days. Links created in your account only expire if you or the site settings give them an expiry.
Can a link expire after a number of clicks?
Yes. Set a Click limit under Advanced options and the link stops working once that many counted clicks have been reached. The after-expiry redirect and the click limit is part of the paid plan. You can upgrade from your dashboard.