onetime

OneTime is a term used across technology and security to denote objects, tokens, or actions that are intended for single use. The concept emphasizes that once a particular piece of data or a mechanism has fulfilled its purpose, it should not be reusable, reducing certain classes of risk such as replay attacks or credential reuse.

In cryptography, the idea of one-time use appears in several forms. One-time pads use a random key that is as long as the message and never reused, making the encryption theoretically unbreakable when implemented correctly. One-time passwords (OTPs) provide authentication credentials that are valid for a single login or transaction, often generated by hardware tokens, software apps, or delivery channels with time or event-based constraints.

Within software engineering and secure systems, one-time use extends to tokens and links that must not be reused. One-time tokens are commonly employed for password resets, two-factor authentication, and API interactions to limit exposure if a token leaks. Expiration policies and single-use design help mitigate risks from phishing, interception, or credential theft. One-time patterns also appear in initialization routines or events that should only occur once during a system’s lifecycle to avoid inconsistent state.

In data sharing and collaboration, one-time or ephemeral mechanisms enable temporary access to secrets, documents, or messages. These can include single-view links or disposable secret-sharing services, where access is automatically revoked after use or after a defined interval.

There is no single, widely recognized product or standard named “OneTime.” Instead, the term serves as a generic label for single-use concepts across authentication, cryptography, and secure data exchange. If a particular context or product is intended, additional details would clarify its specific features and scope.