How to keep a link or album online forever — without subscribing

You uploaded a file, shared the link, and it worked great. Then seven days later someone clicked it and got a dead page. The free tier gives you 7 days per link before it goes offline — and sometimes that's fine. But when you want just one linkto stay alive — a wedding album, a portfolio PDF, a school project — subscribing to a full Pro plan feels like too much. There's a middle path: a one-time keepalive purchase that keeps a single link or album online for a year, or forever.

Why free links expire

Storing files online costs real money — bandwidth and object storage are not free. The 7-day window on free links is how Link in Seconds keeps the free tier sustainable without charging card details upfront. It is the same tradeoff WeTransfer, Smash, and almost every free file-sharing tool makes. (If you want the full picture on why links expire in general, the share links that never expire article covers all the common culprits.)

Pro subscribers never see this problem — their links live as long as they subscribe. But if you only need one link to stick around, paying a monthly fee for that one use case is overkill. The keepalive is built for exactly that situation.

What a one-time keepalive does

A keepalive is a one-off purchase attached to a single link or album. It does two things:

• Prevents expiry. The link or album stays online for the duration you buy — one year or forever — even if your account stays on the free plan. The 7-day TTL clock simply stops for that link.
• Raises the storage cap for that link. A free account is capped at 100 MB total storage. A keepalive purchase raises the cap for that specific link or album to 1 GB (year purchase) or 3 GB (lifetime purchase), so you can add more files to it later without hitting the free ceiling.

Keepalive pricing

• $8.99 for one year (1 GB).The link or album stays live for 12 months from the purchase date, and its storage cap rises to 1 GB. Good for a photo album from this year's wedding, a project handoff, or anything with a clear expiry window.
• $15.99 for lifetime (3 GB). The link or album never expires — the file stays online as long as the service exists — and its storage cap rises to 3 GB. Right for a portfolio link, a QR code on a printed card, or anything you want to set and forget.

Both are a single charge in Dodo Payments. No subscription, no renewal to cancel, no card billed again.

How to buy a keepalive

You can buy a keepalive in three places:

1. From your dashboard. Open the link or album you want to keep alive, click the menu (⋯) next to it, and choose "Keep this link online". Select the year or lifetime option and complete checkout.
2. From the album viewer.When you're looking at a bucket / album view, there is a "Keep this album online" button in the controls area.
3. From the expired-link page. If the link has already expired and someone (including you) clicks it, the expired page offers the keepalive purchase directly. You can revive a dead link without losing the URL — it comes back immediately after checkout.

Keepalive vs. upgrading to Pro

Both options make a link permanent, so which one makes sense?

Buy a keepalive when

• You have one or two specific links you want to stay online long-term.
• You do not need password protection, custom slugs, advanced analytics, or large upload sizes.
• You want to pay once and be done — no recurring billing.
• The file itself fits within 1 GB (year) or 3 GB (lifetime).

Upgrade to Pro when

• All your links should stay alive — not just one or two.
• You need Pro controls: password lock, expiry dates, custom link names, view analytics.
• You are uploading files larger than 100 MB regularly (Pro allows up to 200 MB per file).
• You want more than 20 lifetime links (the free cap).

Pro pricing for reference

If you decide a keepalive is not enough and you want all your links permanent with full Pro controls, Pro is $7/mo or $29/yr, billed monthly or yearly. There is also a one-time Lifetime option at $49 once — pay once and keep Pro forever, with 20 GB of storage and up to 250 MB per file. See the full comparison on the pricing page.

Frequently asked questions

Does the keepalive unlock Pro features?

No. The keepalive keeps one link alive and raises its storage cap. Features like password protection, custom slugs, view analytics, and email gating require a Pro subscription.

What happens to a year keepalive when it expires?

After 12 months the link goes back to the normal free TTL. It will expire in 7 days unless you renew the keepalive, buy a lifetime keepalive, or upgrade to Pro.

Can I buy a keepalive for a bucket / album?

Yes — buckets and single-file links both support keepalive purchases. The process is the same: open the album viewer or your dashboard and look for the keepalive option in the menu.

Can I add more files to a kept-alive album later?

Yes. The raised storage cap (1 GB or 3 GB) means you can add photos or files to that album without hitting the free 100 MB ceiling. The extra headroom applies only to that specific album, not to your account overall.

Will a keepalive work if I delete my account?

No — keepalives are tied to your account. If the account is deleted, all links including kept-alive ones are removed. The keepalive keeps your link alive on the platform, not independently.

If you are deciding between a keepalive and Pro, the pricing page has the full side-by-side. Or if you are just starting out, see how bundling files into one link works before deciding how long you need it to live.