php - How can I create a one time download link with Amazon S3?

Question

I want to create a one time download link to an amazon s3 hosted file. This link expires once the file has been downloaded.

I want this file to still be hosted but a visitor can only download the file once.

The scenario I need this for is: I have a file download website where users pay for a file. I want the user to only be able to download the file once from the website (and Amazon s3), I also do not want the user to be able to share a direct download link with other people.

If this isn't possible I wonder if it is more efficient to limit it by an IP address or Cookie if possible?

Answer 1

There is no way to tell S3 to allow a link to be used only once. But you can create a link that can only be used until a specified time. What I do is redirect the requester to an S3 link that expires in a few minutes, so he or she doesn't have time to share it. You can make that expiration time very short, even a few seconds, so long as their browser has time to receive the redirect response and follow it.