Bitly is a handy URL shortener that Ive utilized for lots of years. There is an easy way to quickly identify whats behind a Bitly URL without actually clicking on the link. The trick is to just include a “+” to the end of any Bitly URL. When you include the “+” the URL will reroute to Bitly instead of to whatever the original URL was.

Sadly, not all Bitly users are utilizing them for good factors. Some people use them to hide wicked links. Luckily, there is a simple method to rapidly identify 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 include the “+” the URL will redirect to Bitly instead of to whatever the initial URL was. That will then reveal you the Bitly page on which the reduced URL is hosted and will show you what the initial link was..
You can attempt this trick with a URL that I just recently shortened. Bit.ly/ THWTAPRIL will lead you directly to a copy of the slides that I used in my current 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..
Enjoy this short video to see how you can utilize the “+” technique to find out whats hidden behind a Bitly link..

If you desire 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 initial link without clicking on it.

Applications for Education.
Structure good digital citizenship and cyber security abilities is something that all of us should be helping our students do. Showing them little pointers like this one to avoid clicking on suspicious links is among the ways that we can assist our trainees develop their digital citizenship and cyber security abilities.

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

Heres a video summary of how to see whats behind a TinyURL without really clicking on the link.

Bitly is a convenient URL shortener that Ive used for several years. As a signed up user I can develop custom, reduced URLs that individuals can actually spell. I utilize these whenever I require to share a link to a Canva or Google Slides presentation since the default URLs offered by those services are incoherent and constantly long..

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