Link expiration, your way
Make any short link expire on a date, after a number of clicks, or go live on a schedule. Bot clicks never count toward the limit, and when a link expires you choose what visitors see — a clean page or a redirect of your own.
What is link expiration?
An expiring link is a short link that stops sending visitors to its destination once a condition is met — a date, a click count, or a schedule that hasn't started yet — and optionally sends late visitors to a URL you choose instead of a dead end. It's how you make a link that's temporary, single-use, or time-boxed, without babysitting it.
Three ways a link can expire
Use one, or combine all three on a single link.
Expire on a date
The link works until a date and time you set, then stops — checked in real time, exact to the minute. Perfect for sale ends, registration cutoffs, and coupon deadlines.
Expire after N clicks
The link works for the first N human visits, then stops. Great for scarcity — 'first 500,' capped beta seats, per-lead coupons.
Scheduled start
Build the link now, but keep it dark until a launch time. Early visitors see a 'not active yet' page, and it flips live automatically. You can preview it beforehand.
Bot clicks don't count — and we say so honestly
Two details competitors gloss over. First, the click limit counts humans only: crawlers, link-preview unfurlers, and security scanners are filtered out, so a "first 50" campaign actually reaches 50 real people — not 50 bots that hit the link the moment it was shared. (Some shorteners count bot clicks too, and quietly burn your allowance.)
Second, click-limit enforcement is near-real-time, not exact: the counter runs through the analytics pipeline, so under a sudden burst a link might serve a few extra clicks before it switches off. Date and scheduled-start checks are exact; only the click counter has that small lag. If you need a hard cap, pair the click limit with a date.
What visitors see after it expires
You decide. Set an expired redirect URL and expired or late visitors are sent there — a waitlist, the full-price page, or an "offer ended" message. Set nothing, and they get a clean "Link Unavailable" page instead of a broken link. A scheduled link that hasn't started yet shows a "not active yet" page. Expired links are auto-archived, so they don't clutter your dashboard.
Expiring links vs. self-destructing links
A one-time link — a click limit of 1 — covers single-use access: a personal invite that works once, then stops. That's different from "burn-after-reading" secret tools, which store an encrypted payload and delete it after one view. U2L's one-time link stops redirecting; it doesn't host and destroy a secret. For one-time access it's exactly right; for sending a password or key once, a dedicated secret tool is the better fit.
Link expiration FAQ
Can a link expire after a certain number of clicks?+
Yes — set a max-click limit, and after that many human clicks the link stops. Bots and link-preview scanners don't count toward the limit, so your 'first 50' reaches 50 real people.
Can I set a link to expire on a specific date?+
Yes — pick a date and time, and the link stops redirecting the moment it passes. The date check runs in real time, so it's exact.
What happens when someone clicks an expired link?+
They go to the custom redirect URL you set, or — if you set none — see a clean 'Link Unavailable' page. Either way there's no broken destination or confusing error.
Can I schedule a link to go live later?+
Yes — set a start date, and before it visitors see a 'not active yet' page. The link activates automatically at the scheduled time, and you can preview it beforehand to check it.
Is click-limit expiry exact?+
It's near-real-time, not to-the-click exact. The counter runs through the analytics pipeline, so under a sudden burst a link may serve a few extra clicks before it switches off. For a hard cap, pair the click limit with a date.
Do bot clicks use up my click limit?+
No — the limit counts human visits only. Crawlers, link-preview unfurlers, and security scanners are filtered out, so they can't burn through your allowance before real visitors arrive.
Can I make a one-time (single-use) link?+
Yes — set the click limit to 1. Note this stops the link redirecting after one use; it's for one-time access, not for hosting and destroying a stored secret the way burn-after-reading tools do.
Can I redirect visitors somewhere else after the link expires?+
Yes — set an expired redirect URL, and expired or late visitors are sent there instead of a dead end. Send them to a waitlist, the full-price page, or an 'offer ended' page.
Can one link use a date and a click limit and a start date together?+
Yes — combine all three on one link. The only rule is that the start date must be before the expiration date.
Is the link really deleted when it expires?+
The link stops working and is automatically archived, so expired links don't pile up. It's a redirect that stops — not a stored secret being destroyed — so for one-time access use a click limit of 1.
Make a link that expires when you want
Set a date, a click limit, or a launch schedule — and let the link take care of itself.