Bitly is an useful URL shortener that Ive used for many years. There is a simple method to rapidly identify whats behind a Bitly URL without really clicking on the link. The technique is to just include a “+” to the end of any Bitly URL. When you include the “+” the URL will reroute to Bitly rather of to whatever the initial URL was.

Bitly is a convenient URL shortener that Ive used for numerous years. As a registered user I can produce custom, reduced URLs that people can in fact spell. I use these whenever I require to share a link to a Canva or Google Slides discussion because the default URLs provided by those services are incoherent and constantly long..

Heres a video overview of how to see whats behind a TinyURL without in fact clicking on the link.

Applications for Education.
Structure excellent digital citizenship and cyber security abilities is something that all of us should be helping our students do. Revealing them little pointers like this one to prevent clicking suspicious links is one of the manner ins which we can help our trainees construct their digital citizenship and cyber safety skills.

This post originally appeared on FreeTech4Teachers.com. If you see it in other places, it has actually been used without consent.

If you wish to try this with a TinyURL, tinyurl.com/emkns9a8 will lead you to the page for the Practical Ed Tech Virtual Summer Camp, however adding a “+” at the end of that TinyURL will take you to the page where you can see the original link without clicking on it.

There is a simple method to rapidly determine whats behind a Bitly URL without really clicking on the link. The technique is to simply include a “+” to the end of any Bitly URL. When you add the “+” the URL will reroute to Bitly instead of to whatever the original URL was.
You can attempt this trick with a URL that I recently reduced. Bit.ly/ THWTAPRIL will lead you directly to a copy of the slides that I used in my recent Intro to Teaching History With Technology webinar. Bit.ly/ THWTAPRIL+ will lead you to the Bitly page where you can see my initial discussion URL and see when I produced the reduced URL..
View this short video to see how you can use the “+” technique to learn whats hidden behind a Bitly link..

As I do every year, Im taking this week as a break from publishing new post and will be republishing some of the most popular posts of the year. Heres one from April.