How it works
When a download delivery delay is active, Alva Digital Downloads accepts the order straight away but keeps the buyer's files, packs, and links locked until the delay elapses. At checkout the customer gets a short "your download is on the way" email that names the exact moment access opens. When that moment arrives, Alva sends the full download email and every customer surface — the download page, thank-you page, customer account, and order status — switches from "available on a date" to live download links. The delay is measured from the purchase time, and access unlocks at exactly the configured moment.
When to use it
A download delay is useful whenever files should not be openable the instant someone buys. Three common cases:
- Launch-day coordination — sell ahead of time and let every buyer unlock together on release day, no matter when they ordered.
- Cohort or drip access — line up when downloads open with a course start or a group intake.
- Anti-resale cool-down — a built-in waiting period adds friction before a freshly bought file can be re-shared. Set a delay comfortably longer than your fraud review for this.
Set a download delivery delay
The delay is set per product — there is no store-wide default, and a product with no delay configured delivers immediately, which is how every product behaves until you change it. Download delivery isn't available for personalized products or license-key-only products: personalized files deliver when you upload them, and license keys have their own delivery schedule.
1. Open the product in Alva
In the Alva admin, open the product from your product list. The delay lives in the product's Settings card.
2. Set the Download delivery delay
In the Settings card, find Download delivery. Switch it from Deliver immediately to Delay delivery, enter an amount, and pick a unit — seconds, minutes, hours, or days. The maximum is 365 days.
Alva product page → Settings card → Download delivery. Show the timing control set to "Delay delivery", a "2" amount field, and the unit dropdown set to "days", with the Save bar visible. No real customer data.
3. Save
Save the product. The new timing applies to its next order — orders already placed keep the unlock time they were given.
What customers see
A delay never leaves a buyer wondering where their order went. Right after checkout they receive a "your download is on the way" email showing the date and time their download unlocks, in their own time zone. Until then, every place a download would normally appear — the thank-you page, the download page, the customer account, and the order status page — shows "available on" that date instead of a link. In the last ten minutes the page switches to a live countdown, and the moment the timer reaches zero the download email arrives.
How exact is the timing?
Access is exact. The download unlocks at precisely the configured moment on every surface — a two-hour delay opens access two hours after the order is paid, to the second. The notification email is best-effort but quick: it normally lands within a few seconds of unlock, and always within a minute. Because access has already opened, a buyer who checks the page at the unlock time sees their download even in the rare case the email is a few seconds behind.
Release a held download early
Set a delay but need to give one buyer their files now? Open the order in Shopify and Alva's order view shows a Delayed download delivery card listing every held item with its unlock time. Release now next to an item opens that download instantly and sends the delivery email; Release all now does the same for the whole order. A few other actions release a held order as a side effect: resending the download email, sending it to a different address, and granting extra downloads for the order each open access straight away.
Alva order view → "Delayed download delivery" card listing one held item with its unlock time, a "Release now" button on the row, and a "Release all now" button. Use placeholder product/customer data.
Good to know
- The clock starts at purchase, not at fraud approval. If an order is held for manual fraud review for longer than a short delay, its files unlock as soon as you approve it. For a genuine anti-resale cool-down, set a delay longer than your review usually takes.
- In-person POS sales are never delayed. A point-of-sale order delivers its downloads immediately, whatever the product's delay.
- Auto-fulfilment isn't delayed. If you auto-fulfil digital orders, Shopify can mark the order Fulfilled while the buyer is still waiting for access — the fulfilment status and the download unlock are separate.
- License keys keep their own schedule. A product can delay both its downloads and its license keys; the two run independently, and the buyer still gets a single heads-up email.
- Editing a delay only affects new orders. Each order's unlock time is fixed when it's placed, so changing the delay never moves a download that's already been sold.
- Relative link-expiry windows start at unlock. If a link expires a set number of hours after delivery, that countdown begins when the download opens, not when the order was paid.
- PDF watermarking happens during the wait. If the product stamps its PDFs, Alva prepares the watermarked file while the delay runs so it's ready the instant the download unlocks.
FAQ
Does the delay apply to files, packs, and links?
Yes. A download delivery delay holds every downloadable part of the order — files, packs, and links — and unlocks them together at the configured moment. License keys are separate and follow their own delivery schedule.
When does the delay start counting?
From the purchase time. A two-day delay unlocks the download two days after the order is paid. If an order sits in fraud review longer than the delay, the files unlock as soon as you approve it.
Can I release a held download early?
Yes. The order page has a Delayed download delivery card with Release now for a single item and Release all now for the whole order. Resending the download email or granting extra downloads also releases access immediately.
Do in-person POS sales use the delay?
No. Point-of-sale orders always deliver their downloads immediately, whatever delay the product has set.
Why does the order say Fulfilled while the customer is still waiting?
Auto-fulfilment is not delayed, so Shopify can mark a digital order Fulfilled before the download unlocks. The fulfilment status and the download release are independent.
Does changing a product's delay affect existing orders?
No. Editing the delay only changes new orders. Each order's unlock time is locked in when it is placed, so an order already sold keeps its original timing.
See also
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Last updated 2026-07-22