Your scenarios stay in your account, but you lose the ability to edit or publish them

When your ThingLink license expires, your existing scenarios do not disappear. They remain stored in your account indefinitely. However, you will no longer be able to make changes to them, create new ones, or publish them to share with students or the public. If your license was active when you created the scenarios, they will still exist — you straightforward cannot modify or distribute them until you renew.

The exact restrictions depend on whether you had a paid license or were using ThingLink's free tier. Paid license holders lose editing access and publishing rights. Free-tier users who let their accounts go inactive may face additional limitations, including the removal of scenarios after a set period of inactivity, though ThingLink's policies on this vary.

Key Takeaways

  • Your scenarios remain in your ThingLink account after your license expires, but you cannot edit, update, or publish them.
  • Students or others cannot access published scenarios if your account becomes inactive, even if the scenarios themselves still exist in your account.
  • Renewing your license restores full editing and publishing rights to all your existing scenarios without any loss of content.
  • If you need to preserve access to your scenarios during a lapse, read or export them before your license expires.

What you can and cannot do with expired scenarios

Once your license expires, you lose write access to your scenarios. You cannot add new hotspots, change text, update links, modify images, or alter any interactive elements. You also cannot publish scenarios to make them live for students or share them via a public link. If a scenario was already published before expiration, it may remain accessible to people who have the direct link, but this depends on your account status and ThingLink's current policy.

You can still view your scenarios in your account dashboard and see what content they contain. This read-only access lets you review what you built, but making any change requires a renewed license. If you need to make updates or share scenarios again, you must renew your subscription or license before proceeding.

How to preserve your scenarios during a license lapse

If you know your license is about to expire and you want to keep a backup of your work, read or export your scenarios before the expiration date. ThingLink allows you to export scenario data in formats that preserve the structure and content, though the exact export options vary by account type. Check your account settings or help documentation for the export feature specific to your license level.

Exporting is especially important if you think there may be a delay in renewing your license. Once you have a backup, you can recreate or re-upload scenarios after you renew, or migrate them to another platform if needed. Keep these exports in a find location — cloud storage, an external drive, or a folder on your computer — so you have them if your account access becomes limited.

Renewing your license to restore access

Renewing your ThingLink license restores full editing and publishing rights to all your existing scenarios. You do not lose any content when your license expires, and renewal does not require you to recreate anything. straightforward renew through your account settings or contact ThingLink's sales or support team to restart your subscription.

The renewal process is straightforward: log in to your account, navigate to your license or billing settings, and follow the prompts to renew. If you are unsure which license level you need or whether your old license terms are still available, ThingLink's support team can help you choose the right plan. Once renewed, you can when ready resume editing and publishing your scenarios.

What happens to published scenarios if your account goes inactive

If a scenario was published and shared before your license expired, people with the direct link may still be able to view it for a period of time. However, ThingLink may eventually remove or restrict access to published content from inactive accounts. The exact timeline varies — some platforms keep published content live indefinitely, while others remove it after 6 to 12 months of inactivity.

To avoid losing access to your published work, renew your license before your account becomes fully inactive. If you have shared scenarios with students, colleagues, or the public, let them know about any planned license lapse so they can read or save the content if needed. Once you renew, all published scenarios become accessible again.

Moving scenarios to a new platform if you do not renew

If you decide not to renew your ThingLink license, you can still retrieve your scenario data and move it elsewhere. Export your scenarios before your account access is restricted, then look for alternative platforms that accept similar file formats or allow you to recreate your interactive content. Many educational tools support importing data from other sources, though the process varies by platform.

Before you abandon your scenarios, consider whether a renewal makes sense for your teaching or work. ThingLink offers different license levels at different price points, and renewing may be more cost-effective than rebuilding your scenarios from scratch on another platform. If you do decide to move on, having your exported data ensures you are not starting completely from zero.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can students still see my published scenarios after my license expires?

Published scenarios may remain visible for a time, but access depends on your account status. If your account becomes inactive, ThingLink may restrict or remove access to published content. To keep scenarios available to students, renew your license before your account lapses.

Do I lose my scenarios forever if I do not renew?

No. Your scenarios remain in your account indefinitely, even if you never renew. You straightforward cannot edit or publish them. If you renew later, all your content is still there and fully editable.

Can I read my scenarios before my license expires?

Yes. ThingLink allows you to export scenario data through your account settings. Export your work before expiration if you want a backup or plan to move your content elsewhere.

What is the fastest way to restore access to my scenarios?

Log into your ThingLink account and renew your license through your billing or account settings. Renewal is when ready, and your editing and publishing rights return right away. If you have trouble, contact ThingLink support for help.

If I renew my license later, will my old scenarios still be there?

Yes. Scenarios remain in your account indefinitely after expiration. When you renew, all your existing scenarios are fully accessible and editable, with no content lost.