Paste your link, open Advanced options, tick Self-destruct. The short link you get works once — the first person to open it goes through, everyone after sees a page saying it has self-destructed. Free, no account, no limit on how many you make.
How to make a self-destructing link
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Paste the address you want to share
Use the box at the top of this page. Any
http://orhttps://address works. -
Open “Advanced options”
It sits just under the input. The panel is collapsed by default so the normal case stays one box and one button.
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Tick “Self-destruct”
That is a click limit of one. The click-limit box greys out when you tick it, because they are the same setting expressed two ways.
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Share the short link
Send it however you like. The first open works; the rest do not.
What the next person sees
Once the single open has been used, anyone else who tries the link gets a plain page telling them it has self-destructed. The destination is never shown on that page — revealing it would defeat the whole point.
Technically the page returns 410 Gone rather than a 404. That tells search engines the link genuinely existed and is now deliberately finished, so they drop it rather than retrying.
When a one-time link is the right tool
Handing over a credential
A password reset page, an invite, a set-up link. If it has been used, it should not be reusable by whoever finds the message later.
A document for one person
An invoice, a contract, a payslip. The link stops working after the intended recipient has opened it, so a forwarded message is useless.
Confirming something was read
If the link is dead, it was opened. A crude read receipt, but one that needs no tracking pixel and no account.
One claim per person
A voucher, a download, a limited offer. Pair it with a click limit above one if you want a fixed number rather than exactly one.
What a self-destructing link does not do
Worth being straight about this, because the name oversells it.
| It does | It does not |
|---|---|
| Stop the link being followed a second time | Delete the destination page itself |
| Make a forwarded link useless | Stop someone screenshotting or saving what they saw |
| Return 410 Gone to everyone after the first open | Tell you who opened it |
| Work without an account | Let you undo it once it has fired |
The one real gotcha: some chat and email platforms fetch a link automatically to build a preview card. That automatic fetch can be the single open your link allowed, so the human recipient finds it already spent. If you are sending a one-time link somewhere that generates link previews, use a password instead of a click limit — a preview bot cannot get past a password.
Combining it with a password
The two controls stack, and together they cover each other’s weaknesses. A password stops anything automated getting through; the single-use limit stops the link being reused by a human it was forwarded to.
Set both in the same Advanced options panel. The visitor is asked for the password first, and the click is only counted once they get it right — so failed attempts cannot burn the link.
Frequently asked questions
How do I make a link that can only be opened once?
Paste it into the box above, open Advanced options and tick Self-destruct. That is it — no account, no limit on how many you create.
Is this the same as a “burn after reading” link?
Yes. Burn after reading, one-time use, single use and self-destructing all describe the same behaviour: the link works once, then stops.
Does previewing the link use it up?
No. Adding a + to the end shows where it goes without opening it, and never consumes the single use. Your recipient can check it first and still be the one to open it.
Can I set two or three opens instead of one?
Yes — use the click-limit box rather than the self-destruct tick, and enter any number.
Can I bring a self-destructed link back?
No. Once the allowed opens are used the link is finished. Create a new one and send that instead.
Does it delete the page it points at?
No. It only stops the short link working. The destination is untouched and remains reachable by its original address.