The long-running clock has finally reached its deadline on Google URL shortener goo.gl: August 25, 2025.
Google wasn’t without warning. It announced back in 2018 that it would be phasing out the service, which allowed you to enter very long URLs and shorten them into something more compact that would be easier to link in posts. Goo.gl is one of several popular URL shorteners, including Bitly and TinyURL, that emerged with the explosion of social platforms like Twitter, where people shared links to save characters.
At the time, Google said it would no longer accept new shortened URLs, but would continue to support the use of existing goo.gl links.
What to do if you use a URL shortener
“Today, it’s time to shut down the Google URL Shortener service,” Google said in a blog post last week.
But “today” is a bit of a stretch, as these URLs will remain valid until next year. Starting in August 2024, an interstitial warning page will appear before you proceed to the destination URL.
On August 25, 2025, they will not function at all and will return a 404 error message.
If you’re still using a link shortener to get your content around the web, you have a year to update those links to avoid sending people down dead ends.
