Ive attempted the “+” technique with a lot of other URL shortening tools and TinyURL is the just one besides Bitly that Ive found it to deal with..
Whats the trick?

The trick is to add a “+” to the end of any TinyURL address in order to arrive at a safe TinyURL page that exposes what the original link was that got shortened. If you want to click through to the destination or not, you can then decide.
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, but including a “+” at the end of that TinyURL will take you to the page where you can see the original link without clicking it.

The trick is to add “+” to the end of the Bitly URL to see whats behind it without clicking on it. A few people emailed me to ask if the that worked with other URL shortening services. If you see it elsewhere, it has actually been utilized without approval.

Recently I wrote
a post about how to see whats hidden behind a Bitly shortened URL without really clicking on the link. The trick is to include “+” to the end of the Bitly URL to see whats behind it without clicking on it. A couple of individuals emailed me to ask if the that worked with other URL shortening services. The response is it works with
TinyURLs..

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

This post initially appeared on FreeTech4Teachers.com. It has actually been used without consent if you see it in other places. Websites that regularly steal my (Richard Byrnes) work consist of CloudComputin, TodayHeadline, and 711Web.

Applications for EducationAs I wrote last week, developing good digital citizenship and cyber security skills is something that all of us need to be assisting our trainees do. Showing them little pointers like this one to prevent clicking on suspicious links is among the methods that we can assist our students develop their digital citizenship and cyber safety skills.