Google has reversed course on its plan to disable every goo.gl short link. In a 1 August 2024 update - which the announcement explained - the company confirmed that any goo.gl URL still receiving measurable monthly clicks will keep working beyond 25 August 2025. Links with no recent traffic will be deleted.
Google URL Shortener
The latest notice replaces the blanket shutdown issued on 18 July 2024. Google now defines an "active" link as one that logs at least some monthly clicks, though it did not disclose an exact threshold.
- 30 Mar 2018 - goo.gl deprecation first announced
- 13 Apr 2018 - URL creation endpoint closed
- 18 Jul 2024 - full shutdown scheduled for 25 Aug 2025
- 1 Aug 2024 - active links granted ongoing support
Google estimates that 99 percent of existing goo.gl links generate no traffic. When a dormant link is visited, users now see a warning banner; those links will stop redirecting after 25 August 2025. Holders can download historical click logs as CSV files and export link data through the original goo.gl console until that date.
The company said retaining only live redirects improves security because abandoned URLs are a common target for phishing campaigns. IPv6 and HTTPS support remain unchanged, and no fees are involved.
To verify status, Google advises owners to open each short link in a browser. If the destination loads without a warning, it is considered active. Otherwise, marketers should migrate the URL to another shortener before next August.
Background Context
Launched in December 2009, goo.gl provided simple link sharing and basic click analytics during a period when social platforms restricted character counts. Growing competition from Bitly and a strategic shift to Firebase Dynamic Links led Google to stop new goo.gl creations in 2018.
The 2024 traffic review drew on anonymised mobile and desktop logs. Most remaining clicks originated from enterprise intranets and long-lived public documents, leading Google to preserve only those links that still matter to users rather than keep the entire service alive.
Google has not announced any changes to Firebase Dynamic Links, and existing support channels remain available through the Firebase community forums and Issue Tracker.
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