Coming soon to theApp Store

Turn off and manage links

Pro

On this page

Every share link stops on its own within 7 days. You don’t have to wait: while you’re signed in, you can see your links and turn any of them off at once, from the document itself or from one list.

What it is

There are four places to see and stop links:

Where What you see
The link row on a scan Under the title, while a link to it is live: “Link · expires in 3 days · 2 of 5 opens left”, with Turn off. Notes, cards and files don’t have this row; use Share → Links to this item.
Vault → Shared links Every link to items in your vault.
Account → Shared links The same list, under Share and receive.
Hidden → ••• → Hidden settings → Shared links from this space Links to items in the Hidden space that’s open.

Links to hidden items are never listed in the vault or in Account; only inside their own space.

Turning a link off (the list calls it Revoke) works right away, for everyone who has it, and deletes the encrypted file from our server.

When to use it

  • You sent a link to the wrong person.
  • The person has what they need, and the link has no reason to keep working.
  • You want to check whether someone has opened a link yet.
  • You’re cleaning up before handing your phone to someone, or after a relationship or a job ends.

Step by step

  1. Open the scan. While a link to it is live, a row under the title shows it.
  2. Tap Turn off.
  3. Confirm with Turn off. (“It stops opening right away, for everyone who has it.”)
  4. You see “Link turned off” and the row goes away.
  1. On the Vault, under More, tap Shared links. (Or go to Account → Shared links.)
  2. You see how many links are active, then one row per link:
    • the item’s title, or “Made on another device” for a link you made on your iPad, for example;
    • its status: “Active · expires in 3 days”, Expired, Used up, Locked (after 10 wrong passwords) or Not finished;
    • details such as “Opens 2 of 5”, Password or No password, its size and when it was created.
  3. Pull down to refresh.

To see only the links to one item: on a note, card or file, tap Share → Links to this item. For a document, tap Shared links on the share-link screen.

  1. In Shared links, tap the red × next to the link.
  2. Confirm with Revoke. (“It stops working at once and the encrypted copy is deleted. This can’t be undone.”)

For a link that has already expired or been used up, the same button removes it from the list.

  1. In Shared links, tap Revoke all at the bottom. It’s there while you’re signed in and the list has at least one link; the list for a single item (Links to this item) doesn’t have it.
  2. Confirm with Revoke all. Every link you’ve made on this iPhone, or on any device while signed in to your account, stops working at once and the encrypted copies are deleted. A link another device made while signed out keeps working until it expires (at most 7 days).

Next to a live link, tap the copy button. This works on the device that made the link. The link goes on a clipboard that stays on this device and clears after 60 seconds.

  1. Open Hidden, then tap ••• → Hidden settings.
  2. Tap Shared links from this space.
  3. Revoke one link, or Revoke all to stop every link listed there.

This list only shows the space that’s open. Other spaces keep their own lists.

Free and Pro

Share links are part of Pro. Seeing and turning off your links needs you to be signed in.

Privacy

  • To list and turn off links, Paperwise needs your account. Signed out, Shared links says “Sign in to see your links”. A link made while signed out belongs to the iPhone that made it: when you sign in on that iPhone, it joins your account and shows up in Shared links. Until then it simply runs until it expires (7 days at most) or reaches its open limit.
  • Our server sees sizes, dates, expiry and open counts for your links, never what’s in a link or its key.
  • When you revoke a link, the encrypted file is deleted from our server at once. After the last allowed open or after a lock, it’s deleted within about 3 minutes; after expiry, within about 24 hours.
  • Deleting your Paperwise account deletes all your links, including the ones made while signed out.
  • Turning a link off stops future opens. It can’t take back a copy someone already saved.

Tips

  • Check Opens before you assume someone has seen a document: “Opens 0” means nobody has opened it yet.
  • If a link shows Locked, someone typed the wrong password 10 times. It can’t be unlocked; make a new link if needed and send the password again.
  • Make a habit of Revoke all when you no longer need any of your links.

What if…

You’re signed out. Sign in with Apple to see and turn off your links. Links this iPhone made while signed out join your account when you sign in here, so they’re listed too. A link another device made while signed out can only be listed after you sign in on that device; otherwise it expires on its own.

You made it on another of your devices, so this one doesn’t know its title or have its address. You can still revoke it here.

Links to hidden items are listed only inside their space: open that space, then ••• → Hidden settings → Shared links from this space.

Turning a link off needs a connection. Check it and try again. Until it’s turned off, the link keeps working.

What if I used the emergency passcode?

After an emergency unlock, the list of links for erased spaces is cleared on this iPhone, but those links keep working until they expire (at most 7 days) unless they’re revoked. Revoke all from Account → Shared links stops every link you’ve made, including those. See The emergency passcode.

Still stuck? Write to support@paperwise.app.