URL Short How to expand a short link and see where it goes before you click
Open the Expand tab in URL Short, paste the short link into Paste a short link and tap Check link. The app follows the redirects one by one and lists every address on the way, the Final address, its domain and whether the connection is https. It never opens the page itself.
Why look at a short link before you open it?
A short link hides its destination. bit.ly, tinyurl or any other service only shows a few letters, so you cannot tell if it leads to the shop you expect, a login page, or a long chain of other addresses. Expanding it first lets you read the address and decide.
This is useful for links in messages, emails, QR codes you did not make and old links you saved years ago.
How to expand a short link on iPhone
- Open URL Short and tap the Expand tab.
- Paste the link into Paste a short link, or tap the paste button. Text around the link is ignored, and a link without http in front is read as https.
- Tap Check link.
- Read the Route: each numbered row is one address with the answer it gave, such as 301 or 302 for a redirect and 200 when the page answers normally.
- Look at the Final address and its domain, then tap Copy address, Open in Browser or Share address if you want to use it.
What does the result show?
| Part | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Route | Every address the link passes through, in order, with the answer each one gave |
| Final address | The last address reached, written out in full so you can read it |
| Domain | The site name of the final address, without the path |
| Secure connection (https) | Yes if the final address uses https, No if it uses plain http |
| Redirects | How many times the link sent you on to another address |
| Things to notice | Plain remarks about the addresses, such as a different site than the one you pasted |
How does the app follow the link?
URL Short sends a light request that only asks for the headers, and tries a normal request if the server does not accept that. It follows up to 10 redirects, one at a time, and stops with a message if the link loops or takes longer than that. The page content is never downloaded or shown.
The requests come from your device, so the servers along the way see them as they would see a browser visiting the link. If the last address starts with http, the app does not connect to it, because it only opens secure addresses. You still get that address written out.
Is this link safe?
URL Short cannot tell you that, and it does not claim to. It does not scan pages, check lists of bad sites or ask any outside service. What it does is show you the route and point out things you can see in the addresses yourself.
- The final site is not the site in the link you pasted. That is normal for a short link, but check that the new name is the one you expect.
- The final address uses http, which is not encrypted, or the link passes through an http address on the way.
- The final address is a number (an IP address) instead of a name, or contains a username or password before the site name.
- The name uses an international xn-- form, a port that is not usual, or the link takes many redirects to get there.
What it cannot follow
- Pages that send you on with their own code (JavaScript or a refresh tag inside the page) are not followed, because the app does not load the page.
- Links that need you to be logged in, or that answer differently to a browser, can end at a sign-in address or an error.
- Links to things that are not web pages, such as an app link, are listed but not opened.