OneDrive link expiration: what stops working and what stays accessible

You can put an expiration date on a OneDrive sharing link when the option is available. Once the link expires, people can no longer use that link to open the file. The file stays in your OneDrive, and someone may still have access through a different link or permission.

Set a date on the link

Select the file or folder in OneDrive, choose Share, then open the sharing settings with the gear icon. Choose the audience and permission, set an expiration date if the option appears, and select Apply. You can then copy the link or send the invitation.

Microsoft says link expiration is available to Microsoft 365 subscribers. Its sharing instructions specify that expiration for folders applies to Anyone sharing links. Save the date shown in the settings and keep track of which link you sent: a date on one link does not establish a deadline for every route to the item. Microsoft’s OneDrive sharing instructions

If someone needs access through the evening of October 14, a displayed date of October 14 does not establish the exact cutoff hour or time zone. Microsoft’s linked instructions do not specify those details. Choose a later permitted date if they need the whole day. If an exact cutoff matters, plan to remove access deliberately and check the result.

What an expired link leaves behind

Consider an illustrative event program stored in the owner’s OneDrive. These are separate ways people might reach it; this is an example, not a tested account.

Route	Who has it	What happens when the October 14 link expires
A: Event email link	Attendees with an Anyone link dated October 14	That link stops providing access.
B: Earlier link	Someone with a separate Anyone link with no date	They may still use it if that link remains active.
C: Direct permission	An editor granted access directly	Expiring A does not remove the direct grant.
D: Parent access	Someone with access through the folder or site	Expiring A does not remove that separate access.
E: Download	Someone who saved a local copy	Link expiration does not erase the copy.

OneDrive access can come from a link, a direct grant, or a parent folder or site. In Manage access, inspect those routes separately. Removing a particular link is a different action from Stop sharing the item; changing one link’s date does not remove independent permissions. Microsoft’s guide to managing access and permissions

To check a result, first identify the exact link and displayed deadline in the owner’s sharing settings, then ask the recipient to try the route they actually use. The owner can keep opening their own file after an external sharing link fails, so an owner’s successful visit does not establish the recipient’s result. A private window can help check whether an Anyone link works without the owner’s sign-in, but it does not test a recipient’s direct permission or folder access. Record what happened for each route instead of treating one denied link as proof that nobody can open the file.

The illustrative route worksheet and blank worksheet provide fields for the item, route, audience, displayed deadline, owner action, recipient check, and observed result. They are planning aids, not OneDrive exports or test results. Do not put passwords, verification codes, or full private links in a shared worksheet.

Follow the link the recipient actually opened

In the event-program example, an attendee may have two emails whose subject lines both say “Event program.” The newer email contains the October 14 link; the older one contains another link. If they opened the earlier message, changing the newer link’s date does not change the route they just used.

Ask how they reached the document: from the dated invitation, an earlier message, a staff folder, or a file saved on their computer. Seeing the same document title is insufficient to identify the permission. A local PDF that opens without OneDrive does not demonstrate continuing access to the cloud file.

A useful check is specific: “Open the link in the October 10 event email while signed out and tell me what the page says.” A folder-access check needs the staff member’s authorized account and that folder route instead. Record each actual result separately.

Fill in the route worksheet

Open the blank CSV in a spreadsheet application and use one row per route. Put the link’s displayed date in its own row. For a direct permission, describe the grant; do not copy the event-email deadline into that row. For a downloaded copy, record that it is a local file and has no sharing-link deadline.

The example sheet deliberately says “Not tested” in its result cells. Replace that text only after your own recipient check. If you discover a direct or inherited permission that should end, review who else uses that permission before removing a broad parent-folder grant to solve one person’s access.

If the date is missing or access looks wrong

No expiration option appears. Check the account, the chosen audience, and whether you are sharing a file or folder. Microsoft limits the documented expiration feature to Microsoft 365 subscribers and describes folder expiration for Anyone links. In a work or school account, organization and site sharing settings can also limit the available choices. An upgrade alone is therefore not a promised fix. OneDrive sharing instructions; Microsoft’s collaboration options

The date differs from what you expected. Check that you are viewing the same link you sent, then inspect its saved date. Microsoft describes an Edit link route for changing a date in personal OneDrive, although labels can vary. A work or school administrator may set a maximum lifetime for Anyone links. Manage access guide; Microsoft’s external sharing administration guide

The link fails before its date. Check whether the item was moved or deleted, or sharing was stopped. A failed attempt alone does not tell you which cause applies.

The dated link expired, but a recipient still opens the file. Check for another active link, a direct grant, or parent folder or site access. Work or school guest expiration and verification-code reauthentication are separate settings from a sharing link’s expiration; do not treat a guest sign-in prompt as proof of the link’s deadline. Manage access guide; External sharing administration guide

Common questions

Does expiration delete the file?

No. It ends access through the expired link.

Does it erase a downloaded copy?

No. Link expiration does not reach a copy already saved elsewhere.

Does making a new link revive the old one?

No. Send the recipient the new link explicitly. OneDrive sharing instructions

This guide follows Microsoft documentation checked October 7, 2026. The event program and worksheet are illustrative; no signed-in expiration timing trial was performed.