How to password protect and set an expiry on a file transfer
Add a password and an expiry date when you create a file transfer, then pause the link whenever you need to stop access, with no account needed for recipients.
Tarkle lets you decide who can open a file transfer and for how long. You can ask for a password, set a date after which the link stops working, and pause the link yourself at any time. Recipients need no Tarkle account to open a public or password-protected transfer.
Add a password and an expiry date
Start a new file transfer and add your files or a folder.
Fill in the details. Enter a Title, which is required. A Summary is optional.
Go to the last step. This is where you choose how people can access the transfer.
Tick Password protected. Type the password in the box that says "Set a password".
Tick Expiration date. Click the date field, which says "Select expiration date", and pick a day.
Create the transfer and copy its link with Copy URL from the three-dot menu on the transfer. Send the link, and give the password to your recipient separately.
You can set the password, the expiry date, both or neither. The earliest date you can pick is tomorrow and the latest is three years from today. Click Clear to remove a date you picked. Audio transfers and transfers of uploaded video do not show these two choices.
Change a password or expiry date later
The menu on an existing transfer has no item for editing the password or the expiry date. If you need a different password or date, create a new transfer with the settings you want. Send the new link, then pause the old one.
Pause a link
To stop access, open the three-dot menu on the transfer, on its page or on its row in the Transfers list, and choose Pause transfer. Nothing asks you to confirm, and the transfer shows a Disabled badge. Your files and the transfer's activity history stay where they are. To turn the link back on, open the same menu and choose Enable Transfer. The Revoke access instantly page describes this feature.
What recipients see
A recipient who opens a password-protected link sees a page titled Protected Transfer. They type the password in the Password field and click Access files. A wrong password shows the message "Incorrect password", and too many wrong tries shows a message asking them to try again later. After a correct password, their browser remembers it for that transfer for 30 days. Nobody needs to create an account or sign in. The Password protection page has more.
What happens at expiry
When the expiry date passes, the link stops working and the transfer shows an Expired badge in your list. A recipient who opens it sees a page-not-found screen. Our Terms of Service say that transfers and links expire on the schedule you set. The Link expiration page has more.
Note: you and your team members can open a password-protected transfer without entering the password.
What happens next
After you create the transfer, recipients who open the link meet the password page first and then see the files, until the expiry date passes or you pause the link.