Article updated on January 24, 2021 by Byothe
Shortened URLs are everywhere on the web… you know, those short URLs that have no meaning and don't really let you know what you're going to click on (like bit.ly/qspoands, buff.ly/2rTeHej or goo.gl/JYG8jJ…). They have the advantage of being practical and short, strong arguments for sharing on social networks, but on the other hand, when you want to click on them, you have no idea what's behind this link… So it's easy to get trapped by smart people.
Luckily, there are a few online services that can help you find out what might be behind a shortened URL. Here are 2 that should do the trick!
Unshorten.It
For a safe browsing experience, the website Unshorten.It allows you to collect a maximum of information on what is hidden behind a shortened URL.
Copy and paste your shortened URL into the dedicated field and you will get a whole series of information like the original URL, a summary or description of the page (if available), a screenshot of the page and a security rating provided by Web of Trust.
This way, you will avoid any unpleasant surprises.
If you want to save time, this service also hasan extension for Chrome and Firefox. You will just have to right-click on a shortened URL to get an option to verify it.
Unfurlr
The service offered by Unfurlr is totally in the same vein as Unshorten.It. You also just have to copy/paste your URL on the website and the service will take care of analyzing it.
The results are displayed in a less user-friendly way, but the technical analysis is more in-depth. In addition to the original URL, you will have a whole series of technical information about the web page behind it.
In short, if you need information about a shortened URL, these 2 free services do the job perfectly. For my part, I have a slight preference for Unshorten.It which displays a capture of the web page, but Unfurlr also works very well.
