As of August 25th, 2025, goo.gl links will no longer be active as Google has announced the discontinuation of its URL Shortener service goo.gl.
The announcement was made on Google’s Developer blog recently. Users can expect to see a notification about the impending closure of the service starting next month.
On the notification page, users will be alerted that “this link will no longer work soon.” Users have the option to proceed to the link destination and select “don’t show this again” to bypass the warning page until August 25, 2025.
Google cautions that the notification page could potentially disrupt various processes, such as:
- Interference with the redirect process for links using 302 redirects.
- Failure to display social metadata embedded on the destination page when the original link is shared.
Developers facing disruptions can include the parameter si=1 in the query to skip the notification page. However, this workaround will only be operational until August 25, 2025.
Google’s URL Shortener Background
Google introduced its URL Shortener in 2010. Initially utilized by Google Toolbar and Feedburner, it eventually became available for public use. In personal testing back in 2010, a Ghack link was created — https://goo.gl/pKTg — revealing limited value.
By April 2018, Google migrated to a different internal system and halted new user registrations. A year later, the service was discontinued for existing users, although the existing shortened links were left untouched until now when they will all be deactivated next year.
Alternatives to Goo.gl URL Shortener
Users and developers relying on goo.gl shortened links are encouraged to transition to alternative services promptly.
Some alternatives to goo.gl are:
- TinyURL – A well-established service with a free account option and a 100 URLs per month limit.
- Bitly – Offering functionality for up to 10 links per month, which may suffice for certain users.
The precise number of active goo.gl redirects remains uncertain. Given that Google ceased accepting new links in 2019, there’s a high probability that a substantial number of links are no longer operational.
Nonetheless, with Google and users generating links for nearly a decade, it’s reasonable to assume that many links are still active and in use.
While some links may be replaced with direct URLs or other shortening services, others will become inactive next year, causing uncertainty regarding the linked content.
Image Source: BigTunaOnline / Shutterstock
