ShareText creates file share links that expire automatically on a schedule you control. Set it to 1 hour, 24 hours, 7 days, 1 month, or 3 months — and the link stops working when the time runs out.
No shared drives to clean up. No files left exposed in a folder somebody forgot about. Just a link that works while you need it, and stops working when you don't.
What you get
Everything included. No paid plan required.
Automatic expiry
Links deactivate on schedule. Choose 1 hour, 24 hours, 7 days, 1 month, or 3 months — or no expiry at all.
View limits
Set a maximum number of views. The link deactivates after that many opens — regardless of the expiry date.
Optional password
Add a password to any link. Only people with both the link and the password can access the files.
Control downloads
Choose whether recipients can download files, or view them only. You decide what access looks like.
Up to 10 files per link
Bundle multiple files in one share link. Recipients can access them all from a single page.
Files deleted on expiry
After a link expires, the files are deleted from our servers. Nothing sits around in a shared drive indefinitely.
How it works
Add your files
Drag in up to 10 files, 15 MB each. No account required to start — you can create a share link as a guest and it works immediately.
Set the expiry window
Pick how long the link should live. Short windows suit one-off handoffs; longer ones suit a project that runs for a few weeks.
Add access rules if you need them
Optionally set a password and a view limit. Both are free, and both apply on top of the expiry date — whichever condition is met first ends access.
Send the link
Recipients open one page with every file on it. They don't need an account, an app, or an invitation to a shared drive.
Why temporary links beat shared folders
Most file sharing outlives its purpose. You upload a contract to a shared drive so one person can read it, and two years later it's still there — still readable by everyone who was ever added to the folder, still surfacing in search results inside your organisation. The sharing was temporary; the access wasn't.
A temporary link inverts that. Access is scoped to a window you choose at the moment you share, and it closes on its own. Nobody has to remember to revoke it, audit it, or clean up a folder at the end of a project. The default state is closed, not open.
That matters most for the everyday things that never make it into a formal document management process: a signed PDF sent to an accountant, design comps for a client review, a batch of photos for a printer, an export someone needs once. These are exactly the files that accumulate in shared drives forever precisely because no one owns cleaning them up.
Expiry, view limits, and passwords work together
The three controls are independent, and whichever triggers first ends access. A link set to 7 days with a 3-view limit closes after the third view even if it's day one — and closes on day seven even if nobody opened it. This lets you describe access in the terms that actually matter to you: by time, by number of people, or by both.
View limits are the right tool when you know your audience size. Sending a document to one reviewer? Set the limit to 1 and the link is dead the moment they're done. It also gives you a crude but useful signal: if the link is exhausted before your recipient says they've seen it, the link went somewhere you didn't intend.
Passwords cover the case where the link itself might travel further than you'd like — forwarded email threads, a message in a group chat, a URL pasted into a ticket. Anyone who ends up with the link still can't open the files without the second factor, which you send through a different channel.
What happens when a link expires
An expired link returns a clear 'no longer available' page rather than a generic error, so recipients understand what happened instead of assuming the link is broken and asking you to resend it. The files themselves are removed from storage — expiry is a deletion, not just a hidden flag on a record that stays in a bucket forever.
If you need the files available again after that, you upload them again and get a fresh link. That's deliberate: it means there is no 'undelete' path that quietly keeps expired content around, and no way for an old link to start working again.
Frequently asked questions
How does link expiry work?
You choose a duration when creating the link. After it expires, the link returns a gone response and files are deleted from our servers.
What expiry options are available?
1 hour, 24 hours, 7 days, 1 month, 3 months, or never. Guests can use the shorter windows; signing in unlocks the longest ones and links that never expire.
Can I limit how many times a link can be opened?
Yes. Set a view limit and the link deactivates after that many views, even if the expiry date has not been reached.
Can I share multiple files in one link?
Yes. Up to 10 files per link, with a maximum of 15 MB per file.
Can I add a note to a temporary file share?
Yes. Attach a rich text note to any file share. Recipients see the note and files on the same page.
Do recipients need an account to open the link?
No. Anyone with the link — and the password, if you set one — can open the page and access the files. No sign-up, no app.
Can I expire a link early?
Yes. Delete the share link from your dashboard and it stops working immediately, regardless of the expiry date you originally set.
Is temporary file sharing free?
Yes. Expiry, view limits, and password protection are all free, with no paid plan required and no watermarks on the recipient page.
Create your first temporary link.
No setup, no account. Ready in under a minute.