Gone
The requested resource is no longer available and will not be available again.
What it means
The HTTP 410 Gone client error response code indicates that access to the target resource is no longer available at the origin server and that this condition is likely to be permanent.
If you don't know whether this condition is temporary or permanent, a 404 Not Found should be used instead.
How it works
- 1The client requests a URL.
- 2The server knows that the URL used to exist, but was intentionally deleted and will never return.
- 3The server returns 410 instead of 404.
Why you're seeing this
- • The resource was intentionally and permanently deleted.
How to fix it
- • Remove any links pointing to this resource from your client application.
Framework Implementations
Express.js
app.get('/api/v1', (req, res) => {
res.status(410).send('API v1 has been permanently decommissioned.');
});Real-Life Scenarios
Use this for limited-time promotions that have ended, deleted user accounts, or APIs that have been fully deprecated and shut down.
Deleted User Account
A user deletes their profile at /users/alice. If someone visits that link, returning 410 tells browsers and search engines to permanently forget the link, whereas 404 implies it might just be temporarily missing.
HTTP Transaction
1. Client Request
GET /promo-2022 HTTP/1.1 Host: store.com
2. Server Response
HTTP/1.1 410 Gone Content-Type: text/html <h1>This promotion has ended permanently.</h1>
SEO Implications
Highly effective. It tells Googlebot to immediately de-index the page and stop crawling it forever, freeing up crawl budget faster than a standard 404.