Not all Bitly users are using them for good factors. Some individuals utilize them to hide dubious links. There is an easy method to quickly identify whats behind a Bitly URL without really clicking on the link. The technique is to merely include a “+” to the end of any Bitly URL. When you include the “+” the URL will redirect to Bitly instead of to whatever the original URL was. That will then show you the Bitly page on which the shortened URL is hosted and will reveal you what the original link was..
You can try this technique with a URL that I recently reduced. Bit.ly/ THWTAPRIL will lead you directly to a copy of the slides that I used 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 developed the shortened URL..
See this short video to see how you can utilize the “+” trick to learn whats concealed behind a Bitly link..

Bitly is a handy URL shortener that Ive utilized for numerous years. There is an easy way to rapidly determine whats behind a Bitly URL without in fact clicking on the link. When you add 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 many years. As a signed up user I can produce 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 due to the fact that the default URLs supplied by those services are always long and incoherent..

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

Applications for Education.
Building excellent digital citizenship and cyber safety skills is something that everyone must be helping our trainees do. Showing them little tips like this one to avoid clicking suspicious links is one of the methods that we can assist our trainees construct their digital citizenship and cyber security abilities.