Meeting Links Explained: How They Work and How Long They Last
A meeting link looks simple, but it answers some real questions: who can use it, can the host return, and when does it stop working? Here are the answers.
Behind every "Join the meeting" button is a short web address. It looks like any other link, but it carries a surprising amount of meaning. It identifies one meeting, it lets guests in with no installation, and it has a lifespan. Knowing how it behaves helps you share it safely, come back to a meeting you left, and understand why an old link sometimes stops working.
What the link is
When you start a meeting in the PeerFlow app, the server creates a meeting and gives it a random address, something like peerflow.ashwanitiwari.com/meet/ followed by a string of letters and numbers. Anyone who opens that address is taken to the meeting's entrance. The randomness is the first layer of protection: addresses cannot be guessed.
Who can use it
Anyone who has the link can try to join. Guests open it in a browser, type a name, check their camera and microphone, and join. They do not need an account or an install. The host, who started the meeting, signs in with an account in the app. If the host turned on a waiting room, guests wait to be admitted. See why waiting rooms matter.
How long it lasts
A link does not die when the last person leaves. It stays valid for a day after the meeting empties, so that you can come back to the same meeting with the same link. After that day, the server forgets the meeting, and the link no longer works. If you open an old link, you will be told that the meeting is not available. Just start a new meeting.
Coming back as the host
If you leave a meeting by accident, or your connection drops, you can open the same link again. When you are signed in with the same account that started the meeting, you come back as the host, with your host controls. Other people who open the link are guests and meet the waiting room if it is on. This also means a host can set up a link ahead of time, go away, and return later.
What the link does not do
- It does not prove who someone is. A guest enters their own name. If identity matters, confirm it another way.
- It does not stay secret forever. If someone forwards or posts the link, others can try it. Waiting rooms and short-lived links limit the damage.
- It is not a permanent room. Each new meeting gets a new link. For recurring meetings, create a link each time, or reuse one within its validity.
Sharing links safely
- Send the link only to people who need it, preferably in a private message or an invitation.
- Avoid posting it on public pages or in big group chats unless you want strangers to be able to try it.
- Turn on the waiting room for anything private.
- Open the meeting a few minutes early to see who arrives.
- When the meeting ends, make sure everyone has left. After a day the link stops working anyway.
Links in different situations
| Situation | What happens |
|---|---|
| The host leaves and returns within a day | Same link works, the host is the host |
| Nobody joins for more than a day | The link stops working |
| Someone opens an old link | They are told the meeting is not available |
| The host starts a new meeting | A new link is created |
Why a limited lifetime is useful
Links that live forever collect risks: they are forwarded, saved, indexed and forgotten. A link with a limited life gets cleaned up automatically. You get the convenience of coming back for a day, and the safety of the link dying afterwards.
Tips for hosts
Keep the invitation clear: date, time, link and a one-line agenda. If you expect to reuse the link the next day, say so. For a series of meetings, create a new link each time and put it in the calendar invitation. The guide on how to run a good online meeting covers the rest.
Try it
Start a meeting from the Android or Windows app, copy the link and open it in another browser to see what guests see.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a PeerFlow meeting link stay valid?
A link stays valid for a day after the last person has left, so the host can return to the same meeting.
If I open the link again, am I still the host?
Yes. If you signed in with the same account that started the meeting, you come back as the host.
Can guests join without an account?
Yes. Guests join from a browser with a name. Only the host needs an account to start a meeting.
Can I stop people using the link?
Use the waiting room to approve each person, and share the link only with people you trust. Starting a new meeting gives you a new link.