---
title: "Secure File Sharing With Clients: One-Time Links"
url: https://uselinkpilot.com/secure-file-sharing-with-clients
description: "Secure file sharing with clients without portals: send each file as an encrypted one-time link, set an expiry, and keep a record of when it was opened."
lang: en
---

# Secure file sharing with clients

Send each sensitive file as an encrypted link that opens once, so nothing stays in a shared inbox.

## Step by step

1. 1
   ### Sort files into keep and hand-off
   Deliverables the client will keep can go to the shared drive or portal you already use. Files with credentials, personal data or financial detail are hand-offs: they should reach the client once and not persist in email.
2. 2
   ### Create a secret with the file attached
   From a free LinkPilot account, attach the file. It is encrypted in your browser with AES-GCM-256 before upload, and the key stays in the link, so LinkPilot cannot read it.
3. 3
   ### Set the expiry to match the hand-off
   One hour for something they are waiting for, 24 hours or seven days otherwise. Burn after read is on, so the first download destroys the stored copy.
4. 4
   ### Send the link in your normal client channel
   Email, your project tool or chat. The message holds only a URL. On Pro, add a passphrase and give it to the client by phone.
5. 5
   ### Confirm, and keep the record
   A burned link means it was opened. On Pro the audit timeline records when, which answers the client's own auditor later without a search through email.

## Send it with a one-time link

No account needed. Free forever plan.

## How it works

1. 01
   ### Paste a password, a key, or a file
   Encrypted in your browser before anything is sent. Burn after read is on for every anonymous secret.
2. 02
   ### Send the link
   One URL. The key after the # stays in the browser and never reaches our servers.
3. 03
   ### The stored secret is gone
   The first open burns the ciphertext. A second visit, by anyone, meets the destroyed page.

Browser-side encryption shipped on 29 September 2026. Secrets created before that date were stored as plaintext until they expired, and a file's name, size and type are still visible to us. Read the full security model (https://uselinkpilot.com/security-architecture).

## Why client file sharing goes wrong

Most client files are sent as attachments because it is the path of least resistance. The result is a copy in your sent folder, a copy in their inbox, copies in both backups, and forwarded copies nobody tracks. Portals fix some of this and create a login the client has to remember. A one-time link is lighter: no account on the client's side, nothing retained after the download, and a link you can revoke from your dashboard if it went to the wrong person.

## Send a password protected file to a client

If the client's policy requires a password-protected PDF or archive, send that file as they ask and put the password in a one-time link sent by a separate route. The creator below does that without an account. For the file itself, the encrypted one-time link described in the steps is the stronger option, since no copy of the file persists on either side's mail server. The send a password protected file (https://uselinkpilot.com/send-password-protected-file) page compares the two.

## For agencies with many clients

An agency workspace keeps each client's secrets and short links in their own workspace, with roles that decide who on your team can create, view and revoke. The agency page (https://uselinkpilot.com/url-shortener-for-agencies) describes the console; the per-file facts on this page are the same there.

## Frequently asked questions

### Does my client need an account or an app?

### What file types and sizes can I send?

### Can I prove the client received the file?

### What can LinkPilot see about the file?

Pro, $29 a month, adds a passphrase on every secret, a custom expiry date and time, and the audit timeline that records each view, burn and revoke. See plans (https://uselinkpilot.com/pricing).

## Related

- How to send documents securely via email: https://uselinkpilot.com/send-documents-securely-by-email
- Send a file password protected: https://uselinkpilot.com/send-password-protected-file
- Share credentials securely: https://uselinkpilot.com/share-credentials-securely
- LinkPilot for agencies: https://uselinkpilot.com/url-shortener-for-agencies

All use cases: https://uselinkpilot.com/use-cases

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