You create a short link, share it everywhere, and then six months later someone tells you it's broken. Was it always broken? Did it expire? Did the service shut down? Understanding what actually causes short links to stop working — and what doesn't — saves you a lot of headaches.
Do short links expire by default?
It depends entirely on the service. There is no universal standard. Some URL shorteners expire links after a set period (30 days, 90 days, a year). Some expire links that haven't been clicked in a while. Some keep links forever as long as the service exists. And some let you set your own expiry date when creating the link.
On TheLinkSpot, short links do not expire. Once you create a link, it works indefinitely — there's no time limit and no minimum click requirement. The link stays active as long as TheLinkSpot is running.
What actually causes short links to stop working
Expiry policies set by the shortener service are just one cause. Here are all the reasons a short link might stop working:
| Cause | Who controls it | How to avoid it |
|---|---|---|
| Service-imposed expiry | The shortener | Use a service with no expiry policy |
| Inactivity expiry | The shortener | Check service terms; click links periodically |
| Destination URL changed or deleted | You / destination site | Keep destination URLs stable or update them |
| Shortener service shuts down | The shortener company | Use established, sustainable services |
| Link flagged or removed for abuse | The shortener | Only shorten legitimate URLs |
| Free plan downgrade or account deletion | You | Don't rely on account-tied free tiers for critical links |
The destination URL problem
This is the most common cause of broken short links — and it's nothing to do with the shortener. If the page your short link points to gets deleted, moved, or restructured, the short link stops working even though the short link itself is perfectly fine.
For example: you create thelinkspot.com/my-offer pointing to a product page on your store. You later delete that product. Anyone who clicks your short link now lands on a 404 error. The short link worked correctly — it redirected to where it was told to go. But the destination is gone.
The fix is to keep destination URLs stable, or if you must move content, set up a redirect on the destination site so the old URL still works.
What happens when a shortener service closes
This has happened to real services. When a URL shortener shuts down, every link it ever created stops working — immediately. There's no automatic forwarding, no grace period, no way to recover them.
The most famous example is Google's own URL shortener, goo.gl, which was shut down in 2019. Every link ever created with it became inactive. Anyone who had printed those links on materials, embedded them in videos, or shared them in articles suddenly had broken links with no way to fix them.
Inactivity-based expiry
Some free URL shortener services expire links that haven't been clicked in a certain number of days or months. This is a common cost-cutting measure — storing millions of inactive links has a real infrastructure cost.
If a service does this, it's usually buried in the terms of service rather than prominently advertised. Before using any shortener for important links, check whether they have an inactivity expiry policy.
Which type of links are most at risk
Not all links carry the same risk. Here's a rough guide to how much the expiry question matters depending on where your link will live:
Low risk — easy to update
- Social media posts (you can edit the post or delete and repost)
- Email newsletters (old issues aren't usually revisited)
- Internal documents that get updated regularly
High risk — hard or impossible to update
- Printed materials — business cards, flyers, posters, packaging
- YouTube video descriptions and pinned comments
- Book or ebook content
- Podcast show notes
- Links shared in other people's articles or directories
For anything in the high-risk category, use a short link service with a clear no-expiry policy and keep a record of the original destination URL so you can verify it's still working.
How to check if your short link is still working
The simplest check: click it yourself. If it lands on the right page, it's working. If you get a 404 error, the destination URL has changed or been deleted. If you get an error from the shortener itself ("link not found", "link expired"), the short link has been removed by the service.
For important links you've published widely, it's worth checking them every few months — especially if the destination website might have changed structure.
Frequently asked questions
Do TheLinkSpot links expire?
No. Links created on TheLinkSpot don't have an expiry date. They stay active indefinitely unless the destination URL stops working or TheLinkSpot itself were to shut down (which we have no plans to do).
Can I set a short link to expire on purpose?
Some shortener services offer this as a feature — useful for time-limited offers or promotions where you want the link to stop working after a certain date. TheLinkSpot doesn't currently offer link expiry settings; all links are permanent by default.
What happens to my click stats if a link expires?
If a link expires or is deleted by the service, the stats usually disappear with it. There's no standard way to export or retain that data once the link is gone. For important campaigns, export your click data before closing or changing a link.
I created a short link months ago and now it's broken. What happened?
Check the destination URL first — paste it directly into your browser to see if the original page still exists. If the destination works fine, the issue is with the short link itself (expired or removed by the service). If the destination gives a 404, the problem is at the other end.
Are short links on free plans less reliable than paid plans?
Often, yes — free plans are more likely to have inactivity expiry or to be discontinued if the company changes direction. Paid plans tend to come with stronger guarantees. For truly critical links, it's worth checking the service's terms carefully regardless of price.
The takeaway
Short links themselves don't have an inherent expiry — it's the policies of the service you use, the lifespan of the destination URL, and the longevity of the shortener company that determine whether your link keeps working.
For everyday sharing, this is rarely something you need to worry about. For links you're putting somewhere permanent — printed materials, published content, video descriptions — choose your shortener carefully and keep a note of where each link points.
Want to create a short link that won't expire? Try TheLinkSpot — no sign-up, no time limit, no fuss.