Do Bitly Links Expire? What Bitly and TinyURL Say, and When Links Stop Working
Bitly and TinyURL both say their short links don't expire. Here is what each one says, and the five ways a short link can still stop working.
No, with one exception on TinyURL. Bitly's help center says "Bitly Links never expire", and TinyURL says "Our TinyURL links do not expire!", although its pricing page lists a 90-day default expiration on its Bulk 50K plan. Otherwise, a short link from either service keeps redirecting until something specific breaks it: someone deletes it, its owner gives it an expiration date, the custom domain it uses stops pointing to the service, it breaks the service's terms, or the page it points to disappears.
The quotes below come from Bitly's and TinyURL's own help pages, read on October 29, 2026.
Do Bitly links expire?
Bitly's support article on the question, updated February 11, 2026, answers in two sentences: "Bitly Links never expire. You can, however, set your links and QR Codes to expire."
So a Bitly link stays live by default. It stops only if you, or whoever owns the account, set an expiration or delete it. The same article covers both:
- A deleted link "no longer works". Anyone who clicks it, or scans a QR code connected to it, gets "a 404 error message".
- A hidden link is different: "If you hide the link instead, the short link is hidden from view in the Bitly app but continues to work."
If you only want a link out of your dashboard, hide it instead of deleting it.
Do free Bitly links expire?
No. The support article makes no distinction between free and paid accounts. What changed for free accounts is what people see when they click. In an article updated January 12, 2026, Bitly says it "is now using ads on free accounts" and has "introduced an interstitial page that includes a preview of the link destination and an ad."
A free Bitly link still works. Your visitors see a preview page with an ad before they reach your page, and a paid plan removes it. The same article calls Bitly's old shortener for links made without an account "now discontinued".
Do Bitly QR codes expire?
A Bitly QR code points to a Bitly link, so it follows the same rules. It doesn't expire unless someone sets an expiration, and it stops working if the link behind it is deleted: Bitly's article says anyone "scanning a QR Code associated with it will get a 404 error message".
Do TinyURL links expire?
No. TinyURL's article How Long Will My TinyURL Links be Available? (March 30, 2026) says: "Our TinyURL links do not expire! With the URL shortening service we provide, you can use and share your TinyURL so long as they are created and maintained in accordance with our Terms of Use."
The promise depends on those terms: a link that breaks them is not covered.
The plan matters too. TinyURL's pricing page, read on October 29, 2026, lists a "Default Link Expiration" of "Never Expires" on the Free and Pro plans and "90 Days" on the Bulk 50K plan. If your links come from a Bulk 50K account, check their expiration dates.
Deleting a TinyURL link is the other way it stops. TinyURL's article on deleting links (August 18, 2026) says you can only delete a link that lives in a registered account, that "Deleting links is a premium feature", and that afterwards "Anyone who clicks the deleted TinyURL link will see a 404 error page instead of your website." Links made without signing in "can't be managed or deleted", so they stay as they are.
For a side-by-side view of both services, see our Bitly vs TinyURL comparison.
Five ways a short link stops working
"Never expires" means there is no built-in time limit. A short link can still stop working for one of these reasons:
- Someone deletes it. On Bitly and TinyURL, a deleted link returns a 404 page.
- Its owner sets an expiration date. Bitly lets you set one on links and QR codes, and when the date passes the link stops sending people to the page.
- Its custom domain stops pointing to the service. Bitly says links on a custom domain "continue to work as long as your DNS settings still point to Bitly and the custom domain is attached to a Bitly account." Let the domain lapse or change its DNS, and every link on it breaks.
- It breaks the service's terms. TinyURL's promise covers links "created and maintained in accordance with our Terms of Use".
- The destination disappears. The short link still redirects, but to a page that no longer exists. If the service lets you edit where the link points, you can fix it without reprinting.
How long do Bitly and TinyURL links last?
As long as none of the five things above happens and the service keeps running. Neither company gives a date. If a short link goes on something that lasts for years, such as packaging, a book or a sign, two choices protect it: put the link on a domain you own, so the printed address does not depend on the service's own domain, and keep the account that holds the link.
Our guide to branded links explains how a custom domain works with a short link.
How to set an expiration date on purpose
Sometimes you want a link to stop, for example on a coupon that ends on Sunday or an event registration that closes. Bitly lets you set links and QR codes to expire, as its article says.
In CodeQR, short links and QR codes have no expiration unless you add one. From the Starter plan up, you can set an expiration date and an expired URL. After the date, people who click or scan go to the expired URL, for example a page saying the offer has ended, or to a CodeQR page saying the link has expired if you leave it empty. This help article shows the steps, and plans are on the pricing page.
How to check a short link before you print it
- Open it in a private browser window and check where it lands.
- If it is a free Bitly link, expect the preview page with an ad before your page.
- Check whether the link has an expiration date in the dashboard of the service that made it.
- If it uses your own domain, check that the domain is renewed and still points to the service.
What happens to CodeQR links when you change plans
When a paid CodeQR plan ends, the workspace goes back to the Free plan and its short links and dynamic QR codes keep redirecting, including those on your own domain. What changes is the limits and the paid features, as this help article explains.
Short link expiration questions
No. Bitly's support article says "Bitly Links never expire." A link stops working only if its owner sets an expiration or deletes it, or if a custom domain it uses stops pointing to Bitly.