Why check a link?
A link rarely goes straight to where it says. A short link like bit.ly hides its destination completely. A button in a newsletter usually goes first to the email company's server, which records that you, by your email address, clicked it. Ad and affiliate links pass through networks that note the click and set cookies to follow you afterwards.
Each of those stops happens in a split second, so you never see them. This page shows them to you: who each one belongs to, what tracking codes ride along in the address, which cookies they try to set, and the page you finally land on. It also gives you a clean copy of that last address with the tracking codes removed, so you can visit or share it directly.
How it works
Our server asks the link where it goes, the same way your browser would, but stops at each step and writes down the answer instead of rushing on. It catches ordinary redirects, pages that forward you after a moment, and simple "please wait" pages that move you on with a script. When it reaches a page that doesn't send you anywhere else, that's where the link ends up.
Questions
Does checking a link count as clicking it?
For the tracker, yes, it sees a visit, but from our server, not from you. Your IP address, browser and cookies are never sent, so the visit can't be tied to you. One thing to be careful with: some links work only once, like password reset, sign-in or "confirm your email" links. Checking one of those may use it up, so don't paste them here.
Do you keep the links I check?
No. The link is followed and the result is sent back to your browser. Nothing is stored or logged. Our privacy policy has the details.
Could my click go somewhere else?
Sometimes. A site can send different people to different places depending on their country, phone or computer, whether they're logged in, or the time of day. We check as a desktop browser with no cookies. If a link is meant to open an app, we show that too.
What's a tracking code?
Extra text added to the end of an address, after the question mark, that tells the site where the click came from. Some only name a campaign, like utm_source=newsletter. Others identify you: Mailchimp's mc_eid and Marketo's mkt_tok are tied to your email address, and Facebook's fbclid and Google's gclid link the visit to the click on their site. The clean link leaves them all out.
Do you track visitors?
We count page visits with our own private analytics. The links you check are never part of this.
Is it free?
Yes. There's no account and nothing to install.
What this can't do
- It can't tell you a site is safe. It shows where a link goes, not whether the page there is honest. Check the final address yourself, letter by letter.
- Some redirects need a full browser. Pages that run a lot of code before moving you on, or that ask you to click a button, stop the trail there. We show the page we reached.
- Some sites block automated visits. They may show a "checking your browser" page or an error instead of what you'd see.
- Links that need you to be logged in end at a sign-in page here, because we never use your accounts.
- It doesn't see tracking inside the final page, such as analytics scripts and ad pixels. Only the redirects, address codes and cookies on the way.