About

Long URLs degrade click-through rates in email campaigns, social posts, and SMS messages. A URL exceeding 80 characters in a tweet consumes valuable character budget and appears untrustworthy to recipients. This tool shortens any valid URL using real shortening services (is.gd, TinyURL, or your own Bitly API token) and stores your history locally. Every shortened link is a real, functional redirect. The tool does not simulate shortening. It makes live API calls and returns production-ready links.

Note: this tool relies on third-party shortening APIs. If a service is temporarily unavailable, the tool falls back to an alternative provider automatically. Links created through free services may have usage limits or expiration policies set by the provider. For enterprise-grade link management with analytics, supply your own Bitly access token in settings. All data is stored exclusively in your browser via LocalStorage. Nothing is transmitted to any server beyond the shortening API request itself.

Formulas

URL shortening maps a long URL U to a short code C via a bijective function stored in the service's database. The short URL takes the form:

ShortURL = domain + "/" + C

where C is a base-62 encoded identifier: C ∈ {a−z, A−Z, 0−9}. A code of length n supports 62ⁿ unique URLs. At n = 6, that yields 62⁶ = 56,800,235,584 possible codes.

encode(id) = {

charset[id mod 62] + encode(⌊id ÷ 62⌋) if id > 0"" otherwise

where id is the auto-incrementing database row identifier and charset is the base-62 alphabet. URL validation follows RFC 3986 syntax: scheme + authority + path. The tool validates using the browser's native URL() constructor, which enforces this grammar without regex fragility.

Reference Data

Service	API Key Required	Rate Limit	Link Expiry	Custom Aliases	Analytics	Max URL Length
is.gd	No	~10/min	Never	Yes (via v.gd)	Basic	2048 chars
TinyURL	No	~20/min	Never	Yes	No	2048 chars
Bitly (Free)	Yes (OAuth)	100/month	Never	Yes	Full	2048 chars
Bitly (Basic)	Yes	1,000/month	Never	Yes	Full	2048 chars
Bitly (Premium)	Yes	5,000/month	Never	Yes + Branded	Full + UTM	2048 chars
Rebrandly	Yes	500/month	Never	Yes + Branded	Full	2048 chars
Short.io	Yes	1,000/month	Configurable	Yes	Full	2048 chars
T.ly	Optional	50/day free	Never	Yes	Basic	2048 chars
Cutt.ly	Yes	3/min	Never	Yes	Basic	2048 chars
Ow.ly (Hootsuite)	Yes (Hootsuite)	Varies	Never	No	Via Hootsuite	2048 chars
Bit.do	No	~5/min	Never	Yes	Basic	2048 chars
v.gd	No	~10/min	Never	Yes	Basic	2048 chars

Frequently Asked Questions

Links created through is.gd and TinyURL have no expiration policy. However, these services reserve the right to remove links that violate their terms of service (spam, malware, phishing). For guaranteed persistence, use your own Bitly account with an API token. Bitly free-tier links are permanent. Enterprise links include SLA guarantees.

Bitly's v4 API requires an OAuth access token for every request. The tool cannot ship with a hardcoded API key (rate limits would be exhausted instantly by all users). is.gd provides a free, keyless JSON API. If you need Bitly-branded links (bit.ly/xxx), enter your personal Bitly access token in the Settings panel. The tool will then call Bitly's API directly.

The tool enforces a client-side cooldown of 2 seconds between requests to avoid triggering server-side rate limits. is.gd allows approximately 10 requests per minute per IP. TinyURL allows roughly 20. If you exceed these limits, the API returns a 429 status and the tool displays an error toast. Wait 60 seconds before retrying.

No. The tool runs entirely in your browser. URLs are sent only to the selected shortening API endpoint via HTTPS. Your Bitly API token is stored in LocalStorage on your device and included only in the Authorization header of Bitly API requests. No analytics, telemetry, or third-party tracking exists in this tool.

Yes. The tool uses the browser's native URL() constructor for validation, which correctly handles query strings (?key=value), fragments (#section), encoded characters (%20), and international domain names (IDN). The entire URL, including all parameters, is passed to the shortening API intact. Maximum accepted length is 2048 characters, which is the practical limit for most HTTP clients.

The tool implements a fallback chain. It first attempts is.gd. If that fails (network error, 5xx status, or timeout after 10 seconds), it automatically retries with TinyURL. If both fail, a toast notification explains the issue and suggests checking your network connection. If you have a Bitly token configured, Bitly is tried as the primary service before the fallback chain.