You captured a screen, typed your comments, and hit Publish without signing in. The link works. Now you are wondering how long that link keeps working, and whether you needed an account after all. Short version: an anonymous review lives for 30 days, and you can keep it forever by signing in and claiming it. The details below cover the cases people actually run into.
Can I really publish a review without signing up?
Yes. You open Cobalt Capture in a browser tab, capture your screen, comment on what you see, and publish. No install, no browser extension, no account. On Publish, the review gets a short public URL of the form /r/<slug>, and anyone with that link can read it. That is the whole point of starting a new review with zero setup: you send the link and the receiver acts on it.
The same review is also available as markdown at /r/<slug>/markdown, and you can export it as a PDF or a Word document. None of that requires an account either.
How long does an anonymous review stay online?
Thirty days from when you published it. During that window the public link works normally: people can read it, post comments on individual items, and open the markdown or export a document. The 30-day clock only applies while the review has no owner. Once you sign in and claim it, the clock stops and the review is kept permanently.
What actually happens on day 30 if I never sign in?
The review is not kept past the 30-day window if nobody has claimed it. The link stops resolving, and so do the markdown and export URLs for that review. If you sent the link to a client or a developer, they lose access along with you. So if the feedback matters beyond a month, or the receiver is slow to act on it, sign in before the window closes.
How do I claim an anonymous review so it does not expire?
Sign in from the same browser where you published it. Sign-in is by Google or by an emailed magic link. Once you are signed in, the review you published anonymously is attached to your account and kept permanently. The public URL does not change, so any link you already sent keeps working. There is a full walkthrough in claiming an anonymous review after you sign in if you want the click-by-click version.
Does the link change when I claim it?
No. The slug stays the same. That matters because the link is often already in an email, a Slack message, or a pull request comment. Claiming a review is a change of ownership, not a republish. Comments people posted while it was anonymous stay on the review, and you can mark each one resolved from your account.
Do I have to pay for an account?
No. An account is optional and free, and Cobalt Capture is free to use. See the pricing page for the specifics. The account exists so a review has an owner: an owner can claim anonymous reviews, resolve comments, and see the analytics page for each review, which shows visit counts and visitor geography. If you want to know what those numbers tell you, reading the visit counts on a published review covers it.
I signed in later. Which reviews get claimed?
The anonymous review from the browser session tied to that publish. Sign in on the same browser and it attaches to your account. If you published from one machine and signed in on another, claim it from the machine where you published while the review is still inside its 30-day window.
Should I just always sign in first?
Sign in first if you already know the review needs to last: a client project, a launch you will reference again, anything a developer will work through over weeks. For a one-off note you send and forget, staying anonymous is fine. You get the same public link, the same PDF and Word exports, and the same clean markdown. The only thing you give up is the 30-day cutoff and the owner tools like resolving comments and seeing analytics.
What does the receiver see either way?
The same review. Whether you published anonymously or signed in, the receiver opens the link and reads your captured screens, your comments, and any numbered pins pointing at specific spots. People with the link can post their own comment on any item. An AI coding agent reads the markdown version. The ownership state is invisible to them; it only affects how long the review survives and what you can do with it. If you are publishing for the first time, the first-time capture and share FAQ walks through the whole flow.
Rule of thumb: if the feedback is worth sending, it is worth keeping. Publish it now, and if it matters past the month, sign in and claim it before day 30.