How Expiration Dates and Visit Limits Work
Set it and forget it — expiration dates and visit limits give you full control over your links, even after you've shared them.
Once you share a link, you lose control — unless you use a URL shortener with expiration dates and visit limits. Here's how they work and why you'd use each one.
Expiration Dates
An expiration date tells a short URL to stop working at a specific time. When someone visits an expired link, they won't be redirected — the link simply doesn't work anymore. This is perfect for:
- Time-sensitive promotions — "Sale ends Friday" links that auto-disable
- Event links — conference registrations, webinar access links
- Shared documents — contracts or proposals with a viewing window
- Temporary access — any link that should self-destruct after a date
Visit Limits
A visit limit sets a maximum number of clicks. Once that number is reached, the link deactivates. This is different from an expiration date — a link with a visit limit of 100 could last a day or a year, depending on how popular it is.
Visit limits are great for:
- Exclusive content that should only be accessed a fixed number of times
- Exhaustive A/B testing where you need exactly N visits per variant
- API rate limiting where a key should only make a set number of calls
Combined: Maximum Control
You can set both an expiration date and a visit limit on the same link. The link deactivates as soon as either condition is met — whichever comes first. This gives you the ultimate control: "This link works at most 500 times, and never after December 31st."
How hrva.cc Handles Expired Links
Expired and deactivated links are checked every minute by our background scheduler. The moment a link passes its expiration date or hits its visit limit, it's automatically deactivated. The system also sends you an email notification if you have expiring links coming up in the next 24 hours — so you can extend them before they die.