You open an export link from yesterday and see “Link expired.” The file may still exist, but the temporary permission to download it has ended. What should happen next?
I would show the expiry time before someone copies the link, with a clear time zone. After expiry, I would explain the next step without exposing private file details to an unauthorised visitor.
For an owner who is signed in and still has access, generating a new link could be straightforward. For a forwarded link, automatic renewal could undermine the intended access limit. I would keep those cases separate.
There is another expectation to manage: renewing a link should not silently rerun an export and produce different contents under the same label. If regeneration is necessary, the interface should say so.
Would you show a countdown, an exact expiry time, or a warning only near the deadline? When should renewal be one click, and when should it require a new access check?
Cover: original AI-generated concept illustration of an hourglass, chain and document folder, not a real product interface.