0xConnect

Share links

Every upload generates a unique share link. A Private Link file is encrypted in your browser and the key travels in the link itself, after the #, so anyone with the whole link can open it and nobody without it can — including us. No account required.

Link format

All uploads produce a single, clean link format:

https://payaion.com/d/abc123xyz789

The hash is randomly generated and unique to each upload. The same format is used for web and API uploads.

A Private Link carries its key after the hash sign:

https://payaion.com/d/abc123xyz789#k=…43 characters…

Browsers never send the part after # to a server, so the key stays between the sender and the recipient. Without it the page cannot open the file, and neither can we.

Link lifetime & availability

A link lives exactly as long as the file behind it, so how long you get depends on the account that uploaded it:

  • Guest upload — 24 hours
  • Basic account — 28 days
  • Pro account — while your subscription stays active

See Limits & Quotas for the full table.

Choosing a shorter link

A guest upload can ask for a shorter or longer window than the default by passing retentionHours to POST /v1/upload/init. Four values are accepted, and anything else is rejected:

  • 12 — 12 hours
  • 24 — 24 hours (the default)
  • 168 — 7 days
  • 336 — 14 days

The ceiling is 14 days because storage is bought in 14-day epochs — every guest upload already pays for one, so the longer options cost nothing extra and the shorter ones are a privacy choice rather than a saving.

One combination is refused: a priced file cannot take a 12- or 24-hour link (retention_conflicts_with_price). Buyers are guaranteed 30 days of access from the moment they pay, and a link that short cannot honour it.

Within whatever window you choose:

  • Unlimited downloads — Recipients can download as many times as they like
  • A count, not a log — The owner sees how many times the file was downloaded. We do not record who opened the link, when, or from where — there is one number per file and nothing else
  • Automatic cleanup — Once expired the link stops working and our record goes. A private file never had a key on our side; the stored ciphertext is unreadable without the link. Other files have their server-side key destroyed.

Recipient experience

When someone opens your share link, they see:

  • File name and size
  • Upload date and expiration time
  • Download button (one click, no account)
  • File type icon (document, image, or generic file)
  • For a Private Link file all of that is decrypted in their browser — our server only ever saw the name "encrypted"

The download starts immediately when they click the button. No waiting, no ads, no sign-up walls.

Sharing tips

  • Copy the link and send it via any channel (chat, email, SMS)
  • Links work on any device and browser
  • Recipients don't need an account or wallet
  • The part after # is the key: whoever has the whole link can open the file. For sensitive files add a password at upload time (the file itself cannot be opened without it, wherever it is fetched from), or send the key separately from the link

Manual deletion

With a dashboard account, you can delete uploads before they expire. This immediately invalidates the share link and removes our record; the stored blob is unreadable without its key and is reclaimed when its prepaid storage lapses.

Agents can also delete uploads programmatically via the delete endpoint.