Google Will Stop Supporting These Short Links in 2025: Find Out Who’s Affected and What to Do Next
Google Short Links: If you have used links created with Google URL shorteners that start with ‘https://goo.gl/’ have some bad news for you: Google will stop supporting them after August 25, 2025. That means when you click on them, they won’t load the page they used to lead to.
However, this is not a concern for many people because Google officially shut down its URL shortening service in 2019. However, those who still rely on shortened links will have to stop using them.
“It’s time to turn off support for Google URL Shortener,” Google said in a blog post.
Short links serve as a more convenient way to share links. Not only do they use fewer characters, but they are also more aesthetically pleasing when shared on platforms like social media.
End of goo.gl link: What happens?
Starting on August 23, 2024, Google will begin reminding existing users that a specific link will no longer work after August 25 before they can access the landing page. The frequency of these reminders will increase as the closure date—August 25, 2025—approaches.
After the shutdown date, all short links will show a 404 response.
Google also notes that if you have used a 302 redirect, the interstitial (reminder) page may cause loading issues, so you should migrate as soon as possible.
Is there any alternative?
Back in 2019, Google discontinued support for URL Shorteners and has since recommended users switch to Firebase links. These are dynamic links that allow users to navigate to Android or iOS and will always load the compatible version of the site. This makes optimization simpler and avoids having to have multiple links for every platform. Other popular solutions include Bitly, Rebrandly, TinyURL, Short.io, etc.
