The gap that expiry dates and passwords leave open
Expiring links and view limits control how long and how often a document can be opened — but not where. A recipient can forward a working link to a colleague, a personal laptop, or someone outside the company entirely, and until the link expires each of those devices can open it. For bid packages, price schedules, and unreleased designs, that window is the whole risk.
How device locking works
With device locking enabled, the share link binds itself to the first device that opens it. That first open registers a unique device identity with the server; from then on, every access request is checked against it. The original device keeps working normally. Any other device — a forwarded link, a copied URL, a synced browser — is refused with a clear message that the document is locked elsewhere.
The recipient does not install anything or manage a password. The lock happens silently on first open, which means the person you sent the document to keeps a completely frictionless experience while everyone else is shut out.
When to switch it on
Device locking shines when a document is priced per recipient: paid reports, tender documents, exam material, early access content, and per-seat licensed drawings. It is also the right tool when you suspect a link might be shared around an office — one estimator can read the bid, the rest of the floor cannot.
For broader distribution — a brochure, a signed contract copy for records — leave it off and rely on watermarks and access logs instead. In AssetGuard it is a single toggle in the share dialog, so you decide per link, not per account.
What happens when someone genuinely changes devices
Legitimate device changes happen: a laptop is replaced, a phone is upgraded. The document owner can reset the lock in one click from the share panel. The next device to open the link becomes the new locked device, and the audit trail records the reset. Control stays with you the entire time.
Combined with per-viewer watermarks, view limits, expiry dates, and instant revocation, device locking closes one of the last practical loopholes in document sharing — the quiet forward. Try it on your next sensitive share with a free AssetGuard account.