diff --git a/link.module b/link.module
index 3d76136..25bef6d 100644
--- a/link.module
+++ b/link.module
@@ -479,15 +479,13 @@ function _link_sanitize(&$item, $delta, &$field, $instance, &$entity) {
   // reference we need to ensure that there's always the original data to
   // process otherwise processed data are processed again which might leads to
   // unexpected results.
-  if (!isset($item['_link_sanitize_raw'])) {
-    // Store copy of original data to use in case of a second call.
-    $item['_link_sanitize_raw'] = $item;
-  }
-  else {
-    // Restore original data to process.
-    $item = $item['_link_sanitize_raw'];
+  if (isset($item['_link_sanitized'])) {
+    return;
   }
 
+  // Store a flag to check in case of a second call.
+  $item['_link_sanitized'] = TRUE;
+
   // Don't try to process empty links.
   if (empty($item['url']) && empty($item['title'])) {
     return;