Technology Goo.gl killed by Google: Billions of shortened links to die next month

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Content source

https://www.techspot.com/news/108816-billions-google-shortened-links-die-august.html

Google is moving ahead with its previously announced plan to kill off billions of internet links created through its URL shortener service. All URLs using the "goo.gl" domain will stop working entirely by August 25, 2025, returning a standard HTTP 404 error.

The company originally deprecated the Goo.gl service in 2018, urging developers and web admins to switch to its newer Firebase Dynamic Links. However, FDL was also eventually deprecated, though Google continued to resolve existing goo.gl links to their original destinations.

In 2024, Google confirmed the final shutdown date. The company noted that over 99 percent of shortened links were seeing no traffic, citing a shift in how people access the internet. Google encouraged users to move on to what it called "new and innovative" ways of browsing the web, including app-based experiences.

 

[Zero Knowledge]

Besides phishing/malware what were they ever used for? Not much it seems.

 

[Sophytaylor]

This is a major update, especially for those of us who’ve used goo.gl over the years for link management and tracking. Everyone should migrate links as soon as possible. This cleanup may be a hassle, but it's also a great chance to modernize your link setup and switch to services with more features and flexibility.