Background
When creating an Applet, the Trigger you choose will determine which URL ingredients are available in your Applet’s Query and Action fields. Some services may provide only a single URL ingredient, while others may show options for Public and Temporary URLs, and some don’t include URL ingredients at all.
The following explains the most common URL ingredients and what they represent:
URL: IFTTT is passing a URL to a destination that is not hosted by IFTTT.
Public URL / Temporary URL: IFTTT is passing a URL that is hosted by IFTTT. This is typically a link to a file, image, or video.
When a standard URL ingredient is used, IFTTT does not control how long the URL remains available. The availability of the URL depends entirely on the service hosting the content and its own retention or access policies.
The names of Public and Temporary ingredients can vary slightly by service. The key difference between these ingredients is how long the URL will remain available. See the sections below for more details on each type and guidance on when to use them.
PublicUrl Ingredient
The Public URL ingredient is available to anyone with the URL and expires after a set time:
Free tier: URLs remain accessible for one year after the Applet runs.
- For Pro & Pro+ users: The URL remains accessible while the subscription is active. Upon cancellation files older than one year are deleted over time, not immediately.
This ingredient is best used when the file needs to be accessible via the URL at a future date, either for you or for others.
For example, if your Applet uses the Send IFTTT an Email Trigger with the Add row to spreadsheet Google Sheets Action to store data that includes an image attachment, the image is added to the sheet as a URL.
In this case, the Email Trigger provides options for both an Attachment URL and a Temporary URL ingredient. The Attachment URL functions as a Public URL, and is recommended here since you or others may need to access the file via the URL in the spreadsheet at a later date.
TemporaryUrl Ingredient
The Temporary URL ingredient is accessible to anyone with the URL, but it expires after 30 days for Free, Pro, and Pro+ users. This ingredient is best used when your Applet only needs to access the URL once and does not require ongoing availability.
For example, if an Applet uses an Email service Trigger to save photos to Dropbox, the Temporary URL ingredient can be used.
In this case, the Applet does not need the URL to remain active after the photo is uploaded, since the file is stored in Dropbox and no longer relies on the URL once the Applet has run.