Expiry Settings Explained: How to Choose Among 12 Presets
load.tw offers 12 expiry presets, from 1 minute to unlimited. Each option maps to a specific use case — this article helps you pick the right one.
Why do you need expiry settings?
Traditional image hosts (like Imgur) keep uploads forever. But that's counterintuitive for many scenarios:
- You share a quick screenshot in a chat — you don't want it living on the internet forever
- You share a bank transfer confirmation screenshot — no one else should see it after the fact
- Event photos only matter during the event — they should auto-delist afterward
- You share an exclusive video meant for a 24-hour audience only
"Expiry settings" turn these "burn after reading" needs into a single dropdown selection.
All 12 Presets Explained
1 Minute
Use case: Briefly sharing a confidential screen during an online chat. E.g., discussing a bug on Discord and sharing a screenshot containing an API key — after confirming they saw it, it auto-expires in 60 seconds. Even if chat logs are crawled by search engines, the link returns a 410 expired page.
5 Minutes
Use case: Quickly exchanging a diagram during an online interview or video call. Enough time to open but won't linger.
30 Minutes
Use case: Cross-team collaboration sharing a live data screenshot. E.g., sales needs to see revenue numbers — you screenshot the dashboard and send it, valid for 30 minutes.
1 Hour
Use case: Ad-hoc data sharing during meetings, time-limited work reviews, quickly showing a client a draft.
6 Hours
Use case: Half-day work cycle. Upload in the morning, expires by noon. Perfect for "I want coworkers to see this during work hours."
12 Hours
Use case: One full workday. Post it and it disappears the next day.
1 Day (Default)
Use case: Short-term events, one-time promotions, today's event photos for friends. This is the form's default — the safest conservative choice. Even if users forget to select, auto-cleanup after 24 hours prevents digital clutter.
3 Days
Use case: Weekend gathering photo collections, short-term giveaway materials, client review periods.
7 Days
Use case: Week-long group buy info, limited-time discount posters, one-week promotional campaigns.
10 Days
Use case: Slightly longer than a week — pre-order events, book launches.
30 Days
Use case: Month-long campaigns, large exhibitions, extended fundraisers. This is the longest "limited" option we offer.
Unlimited
Use case: Personal portfolios, IG Bio links, long-term website assets, blog image sources. Unlimited uploads never auto-delete — they persist until you manually remove them from your dashboard.
Deletion Mechanism Behind the Scenes
load.tw has two cleanup mechanisms, depending on whether an expiry is set:
Expiring uploads → Cloud auto-expiry
We configured a lifecycle rule on the cloud storage u/ prefix that auto-deletes any object after 31 days. Since our longest expiry is 30 days, this rule perfectly covers all expiring uploads. Benefits:
- No PHP cron needed — the cloud handles it
- Precise deletion timing, unaffected by server load
- Cloud infrastructure is far more reliable than our server
Unlimited uploads → PHP cron
bin/cleanup.php runs every 5 minutes, scanning for "soft-deleted by user/admin + unlimited" records and asynchronously calling the cloud delete API. Benefits:
- Instant UI response when users hit delete (only writes to DB, doesn't call cloud)
- Cloud API calls run in the background without blocking the frontend
- Failed deletions retry on the next cron cycle
How Expiry Edits Are Calculated
When you edit an existing share and change its expiry, the calculation is based on the original upload time, not "right now." Example:
- March 1: You upload a share, choose "7 days"
- March 5: You edit it, change to "10 days"
- New expiry = March 11 (original upload + 10 days), NOT March 15
Why? If we allowed "from now," users could infinitely extend expiry by repeatedly editing — defeating the entire purpose of expiry settings.
FAQ
Are expired files really deleted?
Yes. Expiring uploads are automatically deleted by the cloud storage lifecycle rule after they expire; our PHP doesn't need any cron to guarantee file removal. Unlimited uploads require manual deletion by the user or admin, after which bin/cleanup.php cron asynchronously purges them from the cloud.
Can I change the expiry later?
Yes. Go to "My Dashboard," find the share, click "Edit" → check "Reset expiry" → choose a new preset. Important: the new expiry is calculated from the original upload time, not "right now," to prevent users from infinitely extending links by repeated editing.
Is 1 minute really 1 minute?
Yes. Counted from the moment you create the share — 60 seconds. At the 61st second, visitors will see a "Link has expired" 410 page.
Will unlimited uploads ever be archived?
No. As long as you don't manually delete them, load.tw continues operating, and the cloud storage exists, unlimited uploads will persist forever. That said, we recommend keeping your own backup of important files.
Why is there no "1 year" option?
Because 30 days is the current maximum for the cloud auto-expiry lifecycle rule. For needs beyond 30 days, we recommend choosing "Unlimited" and manually deleting when you no longer need it.