The link and the QR code printed on a signed document open the envelope online for a period. After that, the page answers restricted access. Here is who still gets in, and how.
Every document signed on Signater carries a link and a QR code that open the envelope online: the documents, who signed and when, and the certificate of completion. Since anyone holding the link could read that content, the account that sent the envelope decides for how long after completion the link stays open. The default is 30 days; the account can choose anything from closed on completion to 90 days.
After that period the link still points to the envelope, but the page asks you to identify yourself. Nothing was deleted: the envelope stays in the account's vault.
There are three ways to open an envelope the link no longer opens.
You are a member of the account that sent it. Sign in. If you are signed in to another account, the page offers to switch.
You signed the envelope. Choose "I'm a signer" and type the email address where you received the envelope to sign. A one-time code arrives by email and opens the envelope for a short session. The account may have turned this option off; in that case, ask the sender for the envelope.
You received an access link. The sender can create, on the envelope page, a link with a validity and an optional password. That link opens the envelope even after the period. If it expired or was revoked, ask for a new one.
Check your spam and promotions folders. The address has to be exactly the one that received the invitation to sign; for safety, the page never says whether an address belongs to a signer. Wait a minute and ask for it again. If no code comes, ask the sender for the envelope directly.
Closing access through the link changes nothing in the document. The signed PDF you downloaded remains verifiable in any PDF reader, with the timestamp and the certificate embedded in it. The period applies only to the online page the QR code opens.
To see how Signater protects documents, read the security page.