Word Choice – ‘Time-limited’ vs. ‘Time-restricted’ vs. ‘Temporary’: Understanding the Differences

word-choice

I'm writing a spec about network authorization token mechanism where tokens are like usernames, but valid in some (narrow) time span only. For example, one may issue a token which can be used starting from 2018-04-09T00:00UTC till 2018-04-11T00:00UTC. Which wording suits this situation the best?

  • time-limited authorization token
  • time-restricted authorization token
  • temporary authorization token

Best Answer

Time-limited, from time limit:

A limit of time within which something must be done.

Oxford

English doesn't explicitly distinguish between these, but domain usage does. Temporary is commonly used for password resets that force a new password. Time-restricted may refer to a time of day, such as restricted to business hours. The definition of time-limited naturally encompasses the 48 hour period from the example.

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