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Configuring and Viewing Safe Links

This section outlines how to configure, generate, and view Safe Links. It provides step-by-step guidance on defining view limits, expiration times, and message content, as well as how to securely share the generated link. Safe Links can be configured for both Vault assets and standalone, non-asset secure messages, allowing flexible, controlled sharing with external recipients.

Prerequisites

Before you can use the Safe Links feature, the following prerequisites must be met within each 12Port tenant:

  • SMTP Integration - Safe Links requires a functional SMTP setup.
    • A valid Tenant URL must be defined – The SMTP integration must include the correct Tenant URL for this tenant. This URL is used to generate the Safe Link and ensure recipients can access the link through the proper location.
    • SMTP Integration must be Enabled – The integration must be actively enabled within the tenant configuration.

Without meeting these prerequisites, Safe Links cannot be generated or accessed. Ensure your SMTP settings are correctly configured and tested before attempting to use this feature.

Safe Links can be generated directly from any Asset stored in the Vault, allowing secure, time-limited sharing of sensitive information such as passwords, secure fields, tags, and TOTP codes. This section explains how to create a Safe Link tied to a specific Vault asset, including how to set viewing restrictions and add a custom message for the recipient.

To create an Asset Safe Link:

  1. Login to 12Port with a user who has Asset Role: Asset Manager or higher permission to the asset.
  2. From the View Asset page, select Manage > Create Safe Link. If this option is workflow restricted by the Asset Unlock selector, use the Manage > Create Safe Link (Request Access) option to first request access to Asset Unlock, which is required for Safe Link creation.
  3. On the Add Safe Link page:
    • Message: enter the required Message that will be displayed in the viewed Safe Link.
    • View Limit: decide the maximum number of views before the Safe Link is no longer usable. Maximum limit is 5 views.
    • Expire: set the Safe Link expiration date and time. Maximum limit is 5 days.

    Tip

    Set the View Limit and Expiration Time to the minimum possible required. For example, if only one person needs access for a few minutes, consider setting the View Limit to 1 and the Expiration Time to 5 minutes. Using the lowest necessary limits helps reduce the risk of misuse or unauthorized sharing.

  4. Click the Save button.

Add Safe Link Page

Once saved, the page will refresh and the Link field can be unlocked to view and copy the generated Safe Link. Send this link to the user(s) that need secure access to this information.

Edit Safe Link Page - Link Field

The Safe Link can be managed from this Edit Safe Link page or directly from this user's My Profile > Safe Links page.

Non-Asset Safe Links allow users to securely share information that isn't tied to a specific Vault Asset such as manually entered credentials, secure notes, or one-time messages. These links function the same way as asset-specific Safe Links, with configurable view limits and expiration times, but contain only a custom message defined by the creator. This section covers how to create and manage Non-Asset Safe Links for flexible, secure communication outside of 12Port.

To create a Non-Asset Safe Link:

  1. Login to 12Port, navigate to My Profile > Safe Links, and click Add.
  2. On the Add Safe Link page:
    • Message: enter the required Message that will be displayed in the viewed Safe Link.
    • View Limit: decide the maximum number of views before the Safe Link is no longer usable. Maximum limit is 5 views.
    • Expire: set the Safe Link expiration date and time. Maximum limit is 5 days.

    Tip

    Set the View Limit and Expiration Time to the minimum possible required. For example, if only one person needs access for a few minutes, consider setting the View Limit to 1 and the Expiration Time to 5 minutes. Using the lowest necessary limits helps reduce the risk of misuse or unauthorized sharing.

  3. Click the Save button.

Once saved, the page will refresh and the Link field can be unlocked to view and copy the generated Safe Link. Send this link to the user(s) that need secure access to this message.

The Safe Link can be managed from this Edit Safe Link page or directly from this user's My Profile > Safe Links page.

Safe Links can be managed only by the user who created them and only while they remain active, which is before the view count has been exceeded or the expiration time has passed. Once a Safe Link has expired or been fully consumed, it is automatically destroyed and no longer accessible by the viewer or the creator.

To manage active Safe Links, the creator can navigate to My Profile > Safe Links. From this page, users can:

  • Show Details to expand the current Safe Link and review its current configuration and access the Link URL.
  • Edit the Safe Link to update the message, adjust the expiration time, or change the view count limit.

Note

Edited Safe Links have their current view count reset.

  • Delete the Safe Link to immediately revoke access and render the link unusable.

My Profiles Safe Links Page

This ensures that Safe Link lifecycle and visibility remain fully under the control of the original creator.

If you receive a Safe Link URL via email, chat, or another communication method, you can securely view its contents without needing a 12Port account.

To access the Safe Link:

  1. Open the Safe Link URL in your web browser.
  2. Click the Open your Safe Link button to load the secure content.
  3. Review the Message and any Asset fields included.

Safe Link Page Viewing

Once you’ve finished, simply close the browser tab.

Note

Refreshing the browser page will consume another View count towards the total allowed.

If you see a Safe Link Error message instead of the content, the link is no longer valid; either the view limit has been reached, the link has expired, or the URL is incorrect. In this case, contact the Safe Link creator for assistance.

Safe Link Error Message

Events Report Logging

For auditing, Safe Links will generate the following entries in the Events Report.

Create Safe Link
Object: <assetName> for Asset or <userName> for Non-Asset Safe Links
Level: Information
Category: Management
Event: Create Safe Link
Message: expire=10/08/2025 17:30:00, views=1

Open Safe Link
Object: <assetName> for Asset or <userName> for Non-Asset Safe Links
Level: Information
Category: Management
Event: Open Safe Link
Message: views=1/1, expire=10/08/2025 17:30:00, source=133.213.99.122, agent=Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/140.0.0.0 Safari/537.36

Update Safe Link
Object: <assetName> for Asset or <userName> for Non-Asset Safe Links
Level: Information
Category: Management
Event: Update Safe Link
Message: expire=10/08/2025 18:00:00, views=2

Delete Safe Link
Object: <assetName> for Asset or <userName> for Non-Asset Safe Links
Level: Information
Category: Management
Event: Delete Safe Link
Message: expire=10/08/2025 18:00:00, views=2