Short URL Expander
Paste a shortened URL to see its redirect path and final destination without actually opening it.
What This Tool Does
Shortened URLs save characters, but they hide where a link actually goes. This tool follows the redirects of the URL you enter on our server and lists every address along the way, including the final landing page. Your device never connects to the destination.
The result shows each step's URL and HTTP status code (such as 301 or 302). Once you can see the final URL, read the domain name from right to left and check whether it is the site you expected.
This tool only reveals the redirect path and the landing URL. It does not guarantee that the destination is safe. If anything looks suspicious, the safest choice is not to open the link.
How to Use It
Copy the URL you want to check
Rather than opening a link you received, long press it or use right click to copy just the address. Anything starting with https:// can be pasted as it is.
Paste it into the field
Paste the address into the field above and press the check button. The Enter key works too. The tool is just as useful for ordinary links when all you want to know is whether they redirect.
Read the path from top to bottom
Every address along the way is listed in order, each with the HTTP status code it returned. A shortened link usually needs only one redirect, so an unusually long list is a reason to pause.
Check the domain of the landing address
The last row is the address that would actually open. Read the domain from the right and confirm that the registered part of the name belongs to the organization you expected. If it does not, stop there.
How Redirects Work and How to Read Them
What happens when a short link redirects
A shortened URL points to a server that keeps a table matching a short code to the original address. When a browser asks for that code, the server does not return page content; it answers that the request should move elsewhere and names the new address in a Location header. The browser then repeats the request against that address.
Each of those round trips counts as one redirect. Campaign measurement or a domain move can stack several of them into a single link. The rows this tool lists are the record of those round trips, followed on your behalf.
What the status code says about a hop
A code starting with 3 means a redirect. 301 says the new address is permanent, 302 says it is temporary, and 307 and 308 say the redirect keeps the original request method unchanged. Which one a link uses is a design choice by whoever operates it, so both permanent and temporary codes are common.
A code starting with 2 means the address is the final destination. A code starting with 4 usually means the link has expired or never existed. Some codes are exceptions, though: 403, for instance, means the link is still live but access to it is restricted. When the last row carries a code starting with 2, that row is the page that would actually open.
Reading the domain of the landing address
The only part of an address a browser uses to decide where to connect is the host name. Read a host name from the right: the labels on the right sit higher in the hierarchy, and the name someone registered is a group of the rightmost labels. Country specific forms such as co.jp take three labels together, so read from the right end to work out who controls the address. Note too that if an address contains an @, the real destination is whatever sits to its right, so a genuine-looking name placed before the @ is a sign to be careful rather than reassured.
Names built to be mistaken for another are usually one letter off, move a separator to a different position, or use characters from another writing system that look identical. A familiar name on the left means nothing if the right end belongs to someone else. Comparing the displayed address letter by letter is what makes those differences visible.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does checking a link here count as opening it?
No. Your device never connects to the destination. The check runs on our server, and the page content is not loaded.
What kinds of URLs can I check?
Any URL that starts with http:// or https://. Regular URLs work too - you can check whether they redirect and where they finally land.
If the destination is shown, does that mean it is safe?
No. The tool only shows the redirect path and the landing URL - it does not guarantee the site is safe. Check the destination domain carefully, and do not open it if anything seems off.
Are there URLs the tool cannot check?
Addresses that never answer, and addresses whose redirects exceed the limit, end the trace at that point and the reason is shown instead. Links confirmed to be abused are also disabled automatically, so they cannot be traced at all.
Can the destination behind a short link change later?
Because a shortened URL is resolved through a table of codes and addresses, some services are designed so that whoever manages the table can swap the destination afterwards. The landing address shown here is the one that applied when you checked, so check again if you open the link much later.
Articles on Link Safety
Terms Behind How Links Work
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