Link expiration
Make a short link stop working at a set time, or send visitors to a different page once it expires.
Expiration ends a link at a moment you choose. Use it for limited-time offers, early-bird pricing, event registrations, or anything you don't want to keep working forever. After that moment, the link either stops working or sends visitors to a fallback page you pick.
Set an expiration
Open the link form
Click Create link, or choose Edit from a link's ⋯ menu.
Pick the time
Click Set expiration and choose a date and time in Expires at. The time is in your local timezone, as set on your computer. It must be in the future, and at most 10 years ahead.
Choose what happens after
Optionally, fill in Then send visitors to with a fallback URL, like https://yourapp.com/offer-ended.
- With a fallback, the short link redirects to that URL after the expiration time.
- Without a fallback, the short link stops working after the expiration time.
The line under the fields confirms which one you picked.
Save
Click Create link or Save.
The fallback URL follows the same rules as a destination: http:// or https://, up to 2,048 characters, and checked against Google Safe Browsing when you save.
What visitors see
Expiration is checked on every click, to the second, so there's no delay after the time passes.
| Before the expiration time | After the expiration time | |
|---|---|---|
| With a fallback | Redirects to the destination | Redirects to the fallback URL |
| Without a fallback | Redirects to the destination | Shows a "Gone" page (HTTP 410) |
Clicks that redirect to the fallback are counted like any other click. Visits to an expired link with no fallback aren't counted.
See a link's expiration
A link's detail page shows its expiration under the short URL, for example Expires Jun 30, 2026, 11:59 PM · then redirects to https://yourapp.com/offer-ended, or · then stops working when there's no fallback. Once the time has passed it reads Expired.
Change or remove an expiration
Open Edit on the link:
- To move the time, pick a new one in Expires at. It must be in the future.
- To change the fallback, edit Then send visitors to, or clear it so the link stops working instead.
- To remove the expiration, click Remove expiration. The fallback is removed with it, and the link goes back to redirecting to its destination.
This also works on a link that has already expired: remove the expiration, or set a new future time, and the link works again.
Expiring a link isn't the same as deleting it. An expired link keeps its slug and its analytics, and still counts toward your link limit. To free the slug, delete the link.
Verify it works
- Create a test link that expires in two minutes, with a fallback URL.
- Open it before the time passes: you land on the destination.
- Open it again after the time passes: you land on the fallback.