# Shared Reports

Public, read-only links to a test's results page. Optional password, optional expiry, revokable any time.

Send a public link to a test's results page so stakeholders, advisors, or contractors can read the outcome without an Otter account. Optional password, optional expiry, revokable any time.

Share links are the no-account way to show test results to people outside your team — board members, agency partners, the marketing lead at a parent company. They open a read-only version of the same results page you see in the dashboard, with project navigation stripped so the recipient sees only the experiment you sent them.

For your own teammates — anyone with an Otter account — invite them as members instead. Members get the full dashboard, comments, version history, and ongoing access. Share links are the right tool when the recipient doesn't need an account.

## Create a share link

1. **Open the test.** Find the test in the dashboard and open it. Share links work in any state — draft, running, paused, completed, or archived — though completed tests are the most common thing to share.
2. **Open the Shares panel.** Click the **Share** button. You'll see the list of existing share links for this test (each with view count, expiry, and password status) plus a form to create a new one.
3. **Pick an expiry.** Choose 7 days, 30 days, 90 days, or no expiry. Pick the shortest window that still gives your recipient enough time — short-lived links reduce the blast radius if a URL gets forwarded somewhere unintended.
4. **Optionally add a password.** Leave the password field blank for a frictionless link, or set a password if the results are sensitive. The recipient enters the password once and then sees the report; we hash passwords before storage and never see the plaintext.
5. **Copy and send.** The new link appears at the top of the Shares panel with a copy button. Send it via whatever channel you normally use — email, Slack, a doc. The URL is the only credential needed (plus the password, if you set one).

## What the recipient sees

- **Variants and assignment** — each variant with its visitor count and traffic split.
- **Conversion rate or revenue per visitor** — whichever metric the primary goal drives.
- **Lift and confidence interval** — relative improvement over the control, with the uncertainty range.
- **Decision score** — frequentist significance or Bayesian chance-to-beat, depending on the test's configured method, against the effective confidence threshold.
- **Goals** — the primary goal that drives the decision and any secondary goals tracked alongside.
- **No edit controls.** No nav to other tests, no project settings, no account information.

## Link properties

### Random link

Each link contains a long, random code that's effectively impossible to guess. Otter doesn't expose any way to browse or discover links, so a link is only reachable by people you send it to. Treat the URL like a secret unless you've added a password.

### Optional expiry

Choose 7, 30, or 90 days from creation, or set no expiry. After the expiry timestamp the link stops working immediately and the recipient sees an expiration notice instead of the report.

### Optional password

Each link can have its own password. Recipients enter it once and then see the report. Useful for sensitive results, or when you're sharing different links with different audiences and want them gated separately.

### View counter

Each link tracks total views so you can tell whether it's been opened. Per-viewer identity is not tracked — recipients don't sign in. Send separate links if you need per-person attribution.

### Revoke any time

Click the trash icon in the Shares panel to deactivate a link. The next request to that token returns a not-found state. Revoking is one-way — to re-enable access, create a fresh share link.

> **Share-link hygiene**
>
> **Default to the shortest practical expiry.** 7 days is usually enough for a stakeholder update; 90 is plenty for a long-running campaign. No-expiry links should be reserved for trusted, password-protected audiences.
>
> **Add a password for anything sensitive.** URLs leak — they get forwarded, screenshotted, pasted into the wrong channel. A password is a cheap second factor.
>
> **Revoke when the conversation ends.** If a link was sent for a specific board meeting or pitch, deactivate it afterward. Old links accumulating in inboxes aren't useful and slightly increase blast radius.
>
> **Invite teammates instead of sharing links.** For internal recipients, an account membership is better — they get the full context (other tests, comments, history) and don't need to manage another secret.

## Frequently asked questions

### What does a share recipient actually see?

The same results page you see in the dashboard, but read-only and with the Otter navigation stripped. Variants, conversion rate, lift, score, the effective confidence threshold, and the full breakdown table. No edit controls, no other tests, no project settings. If the test is still running, the data updates live as it would for you.

### Is the link discoverable, or only by people I send it to?

Only by people you send it to. The URL contains a long random token that's effectively unguessable. There's no public listing of shares, and Otter doesn't expose any way to browse other people's links. That said — anyone who has the link can open it, so treat the URL itself like a secret unless you've added a password.

### How do I add a password to a share link?

When you create the share, set a password. The recipient hits the URL, sees a password prompt, enters the password, and then the results page loads. Passwords are hashed before storage (we never see the plaintext) and you can issue different passwords on different share links of the same test.

### What expiry options are available?

Three preset windows — 7 days, 30 days, or 90 days from creation — and a fourth option for no expiry. Expired links stop working immediately at the expiry timestamp; the recipient sees an expiration notice instead of the results. Need to extend? Create a new link with a longer window.

### How do I revoke a share link?

From the test's Shares panel, click the trash icon on the link you want to revoke. The link is marked inactive immediately — the next request to that token returns a 'not found' state. Revoking is one-way; once deactivated, the same token can't be re-enabled. Create a new share if you need a fresh link.

### Can I have more than one share link per test?

Yes. Create as many as you need — different passwords for different audiences, different expiry windows for different stakeholders, a no-expiry link for your finance team and a 7-day link for a one-off conversation. Each link is tracked independently.

### Does the link keep working after I complete the test?

Yes, by design. Completed tests are the most common thing to share — they have a final result you want everyone to see. The link works until you deactivate it or it expires; the test's status doesn't affect the link's validity.

### Can I see who has viewed the link?

We track a total view count on each link so you know whether it's been opened, but we don't track per-viewer identity — visitors don't sign in. If you need per-person attribution, send separate links to each person and label them in the Shares panel.

### Is the data on the share link the same as my dashboard view?

Yes, with one caveat: the share link only shows the test's results, not surrounding context like activity log, comments, version history, or project-level reporting. The numbers, the score, the lift, and the variant breakdown are identical to what you see in the dashboard.

### What's the best practice for sharing results internally vs externally?

For your own team — anyone with an Otter account — invite them as members instead of sharing links. That gives them the full dashboard with history, comments, and ongoing access. Share links are best for one-off external audiences: board updates, agency stakeholders, advisors who don't need a full account.

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Canonical page: https://www.otterab.com/docs/analyzing-results/shared-reports