Magic link: what it is
A magic link gets you into an account with a single click from your email, no password to type. Convenient, yes — but it makes your email the only key to that account.
- What it is
- A one-time link sent by email
- Since
- No specific date
- Verdict
- Yes, but…
What it is
A magic link is a temporary, one-time link a service sends you by email. You tap it, and you're signed straight into your account, no password or code to type. Workplace tools like Slack use it to sign in this way, instead of asking for a password.
The link usually expires within minutes and only works once, which lowers the risk if someone intercepts it late. But to generate and open it, you always need one thing: access to your email at that moment.
When it was introduced
There's no official launch date or single inventor: it's a variant of the email code, designed to save you the step of copying and pasting a code. It became popular as several workplace collaboration apps started offering "sign in without a password" as a simpler alternative for their users.
Why it's used
It's used because it removes the password: nothing to memorize, nothing an attacker could steal from a leaked database, and the link expires on its own. For the user, it's just a click.
The flip side: all of that account's security now depends on your email. Whoever controls your email can get into any account that uses magic links. And if your email only opens from the phone you just lost, the link is useless to you too.
Should you use it?
Yes, but on accounts that don't matter much. For anything you'd genuinely hate to lose, a strong password with its own second factor — not dependent only on email — is better.
Check this
- Does any account that matters to you rely only on a magic link to sign in?
- Could you open your email if this phone disappeared, to receive that link?
- Do you always check the sender before clicking a sign-in link?