Bitly is an useful URL shortener that Ive used for many years. There is a simple way to quickly determine whats behind a Bitly URL without really clicking on the link. The trick is to merely include a “+” to the end of any Bitly URL. When you add the “+” the URL will redirect to Bitly rather of to whatever the initial URL was.

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

Not all Bitly users are using them for great reasons. Some individuals use them to conceal nefarious links. Luckily, there is a simple method to quickly determine whats behind a Bitly URL without actually clicking on the link. The technique is to merely add a “+” to the end of any Bitly URL. When you add 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 shortened URL is hosted and will reveal you what the initial link was..
You can try this trick with a URL that I just recently reduced. Bit.ly/ THWTAPRIL will lead you straight to a copy of the slides that I utilized 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 presentation URL and see when I produced the reduced URL..
Watch this brief video to see how you can use the “+” trick to find out whats concealed behind a Bitly link..

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

Bitly is an useful URL shortener that Ive used for several years. As a signed up user I can produce customized, reduced URLs that individuals can in fact spell. I utilize these whenever I need to share a link to a Canva or Google Slides presentation because the default URLs offered by those services are incoherent and constantly long..

This post originally appeared on FreeTech4Teachers.com. It has been utilized without consent if you see it somewhere else.

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

Applications for Education.
Structure great digital citizenship and cyber security abilities is something that all of us ought to be helping our students do. Showing them little ideas like this one to avoid clicking suspicious links is one of the ways that we can help our students build their digital citizenship and cyber security abilities.