Bitly is a convenient URL shortener that Ive utilized for numerous years. As a registered user I can create custom, reduced URLs that people can really spell. I utilize these whenever I require to share a link to a Canva or Google Slides discussion because the default URLs offered by those services are incoherent and always long..

Not all Bitly users are using them for great reasons. Some individuals utilize them to hide dubious links. There is an easy way to quickly 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 redirect to Bitly rather of to whatever the initial URL was. That will then reveal you the Bitly page on which the shortened URL is hosted and will show you what the original link was..
You can try this technique 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 recent Intro to Teaching History With Technology webinar. Bit.ly/ THWTAPRIL+ will lead you to the Bitly page where you can see my original presentation URL and see when I developed the reduced URL..
View this brief video to see how you can utilize the “+” trick to discover out whats concealed behind a Bitly link..

Applications for Education.
Building great digital citizenship and cyber safety skills is something that everyone must be assisting our students do. Revealing them little tips like this one to avoid clicking on suspicious links is among the manner ins which we can assist our students build their digital citizenship and cyber security skills.

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

Bitly is a handy URL shortener that Ive used for numerous years. There is a simple way to quickly determine whats behind a Bitly URL without really clicking on the link. When you add the “+” the URL will reroute to Bitly instead of to whatever the original URL was.