Not all Bitly users are using them for excellent factors. Some individuals utilize them to hide dubious links. Luckily, there is a simple method to rapidly determine whats behind a Bitly URL without really clicking on the link. The trick is to just include a “+” to the end of any Bitly URL. When you add the “+” the URL will reroute to Bitly instead of to whatever the original 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 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 produced the reduced URL..
Watch this brief video to see how you can use the “+” trick to discover out whats hidden behind a Bitly link..

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

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

Bitly is an useful URL shortener that Ive utilized for lots of years. There is an easy way to rapidly identify whats behind a Bitly URL without in fact clicking on the link. When you include the “+” the URL will reroute to Bitly instead of to whatever the initial URL was.

Applications for Education.
Structure good digital citizenship and cyber safety abilities is something that everybody must be assisting our students do. Showing them little suggestions like this one to avoid clicking suspicious links is one of the manner ins which we can help our trainees construct their digital citizenship and cyber safety skills.