Create Expiring Links & QR Codes

What are expiring links?

Expiring links are links that automatically stop redirecting after a certain condition is met. Linkly supports two types of expiry:

  • Date-based expiry — the link expires after a specific date and time.
  • Click-based expiry — the link expires after a set number of clicks.

You can use either type on its own, or combine both — whichever threshold is reached first will trigger the expiry.

Linkly
Original PageBefore expiry
Expiry DestinationAfter expiry
404 Not FoundNo expiry URL set

When a link expires, it can either redirect to a different destination of your choice, or show visitors a "link expired" page.

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Create a free account if you don't have one. Linkly offers a free plan with all features included.

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Linkly will automatically populate a nickname for the link, or you can enter your own.

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This section contains all expiry settings for the link.

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Use the "Expiry date" field to choose when you want the link to stop working. Use the "Click limit" field to set the maximum number of clicks before the link expires. You can set one or both.

Set an **expiry date**, a **click limit**, or both.
Set an expiry date, a click limit, or both.
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Enter a URL to redirect visitors to after the link expires. If you leave this blank, visitors will see a "link expired" page instead.

Optionally set an **expiry destination**.
Optionally set an expiry destination.
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Linkly will create a new short link for you which will expire when the configured threshold is reached.

In the Linkly dashboard, expiry times are shown in your local timezone. If you use the API, expiry times are in UTC.

Linkly does not translate this timezone to the clicker's local time - the link will expire at the same point globally.

Yes. If you set both, whichever threshold is reached first will trigger the expiry. For example, you could create a link that expires on January 1st or after 500 clicks, whichever comes first.

If you've set an expiry destination URL, visitors will be redirected there. If you haven't set one, visitors will see a dedicated "link expired" page explaining the link is no longer active.

No. If you don't provide an expiry destination, Linkly will show a "link expired" page to anyone who visits your link after expiry.

Yes. Just edit the link after it's been created and update the expiry date, click limit, or destination. You can even re-enable an expired link this way.

The click limit is checked before each redirect with a 10 second caching window for performance. In practice this means the link will expire very close to the configured number of clicks.

Yes. Set the expiry_datetime, expiry_clicks, and expiry_destination fields when creating or updating a link. View our API documentation for details.

Yes. Linkly has a free plan which includes expiring links, for up to 500 clicks per month. Sign up here.

Track 500 monthly clicks with all features included.

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