Google URL Shortener explained

Google URL Shortener
Logo Alt:The Google URL Shortener full wordmark logo
Type:URL shortening
Successor:Firebase Dynamic Links
Content Licence:-->
Owner:Google LLC
Editors:-->
Launch Date:[1]
Current Status:Discontinued as of . Existing links will stop working on .

Google URL Shortener, also known as goo.gl, is a URL shortening service owned by Google. It was launched in December 2009, initially used for Google Toolbar and Feedburner.[2] The company launched a separate website, goo.gl, in September 2010.[3] [4] [5]

Google has replaced the service internally with Firebase Dynamic Links which is now used to shorten links for Google Maps and Google Workspace products.[6]

The user could access a list of URLs that had been shortened in the past after logging in to their Google Account. Real-time analytics data, including traffic over time, top referrers, and visitor profiles was recorded. For security, Google added automatic spam system detection based on the same type of filtering technology used in Gmail.

The service has not been accepting new users since April 13, 2018 and Google discontinued the service for existing users on March 30, 2019.[7] However, existing links will continue to redirect to the intended destination.[8] It was succeeded by Firebase Dynamic Links, but existing links did not become Dynamic Links automatically.[9]

On July 18, 2024, Google announced that existing Google URL shortener URLs will stop working as of August 25, 2025. Google will add an interstitial page to warn users about this starting August 23, 2024.[10]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Making URLs shorter for Google Toolbar and FeedBurner. Muthu. Muthusrinivasan. Ben. D'Angelo. Devin. Mullins. Official Google Blog. Google. December 14, 2010. 15 January 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190116100212/https://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/making-urls-shorter-for-google-toolbar.html. 16 January 2019. live.
  2. Web site: Bit.ly Just Got Fu.kd: Facebook And Google Get Into The Short URL Game . Rao . Leena . December 14, 2009 . . . April 20, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170421000150/https://techcrunch.com/2009/12/14/goo-gl-gets-into-the-short-url-game/ . April 21, 2017 . live .
  3. Web site: Goo.gl Is A Go. The "Stablest, Most Secure, And Fastest URL Shortener On The Web" . Rao . Leena . September 30, 2010 . . . April 20, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170420235944/https://techcrunch.com/2010/09/30/googlegoo-gl-is-a-go-the-stablest-most-secure-and-fastest-url-shortener-on-the-web/ . April 20, 2017 . live .
  4. Web site: Use Goo.gl URL Shortener Without Google Toolbar . Fitzpatrick . Jason . December 13, 2010 . . . April 20, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170421091227/http://lifehacker.com/5447068/use-googl-url-shortener-without-google-toolbar . April 21, 2017 . live .
  5. Web site: Google URL Shortener Now Available as Free Android App . March 3, 2014 . Techno Buffalo . April 20, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170421003545/https://www.technobuffalo.com/2014/03/03/google-url-shortener-now-available-as-free-android-app/ . April 21, 2017 . live .
  6. Web site: Google URL Shortener: What happened to the short goo.gl links?. Clickable . June 19, 2023 . June 19, 2023 .
  7. News: Google shutting down goo.gl URL shortener next year, existing links will keep working. Li. Abner. March 30, 2018. 9to5Google. March 30, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180331040249/https://9to5google.com/2018/03/30/google-url-shortener-shut-down/. March 31, 2018. live.
  8. Web site: Hermanto . Michael . 30 March 2018 . developers.googleblog.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20180630214043/https://developers.googleblog.com/2018/03/transitioning-google-url-shortener.html . 30 June 2018 . 1 April 2018 . Transitioning Google URL Shortener to Firebase Dynamic Links . Google Developers Blog.
  9. News: Transitioning Google URL Shortener to Firebase Dynamic Links. Google Developers Blog. 2018-06-30. en-US. https://web.archive.org/web/20180630214043/https://developers.googleblog.com/2018/03/transitioning-google-url-shortener.html. 2018-06-30. live.
  10. Web site: Google URL Shortener links will no longer be available . developers.googleblog.com . Google . 18 July 2024 . en.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Google URL Shortener".

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