Bitly is a convenient URL shortener that Ive used for many years. There is an easy method to quickly determine whats behind a Bitly URL without in fact clicking on the link. When you add the “+” the URL will redirect to Bitly rather of to whatever the original URL was.

Bitly is a handy URL shortener that Ive used for several years. As a signed up user I can produce custom, shortened URLs that individuals can really spell. I use these whenever I require to share a link to a Canva or Google Slides presentation because the default URLs provided by those services are incoherent and constantly long..

This post originally appeared on FreeTech4Teachers.com. If you see it somewhere else, it has been utilized without permission. Websites that regularly steal my (Richard Byrnes) work include CloudComputin, TodayHeadline, and 711Web.

Not all Bitly users are using them for excellent reasons. Some people utilize them to conceal nefarious links. There is a simple way to quickly identify whats behind a Bitly URL without in fact clicking on the link. The technique is to just include a “+” to the end of any Bitly URL. When you add the “+” the URL will reroute to Bitly rather of to whatever the initial 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 attempt this technique with a URL that I recently shortened. Bit.ly/ THWTAPRIL will lead you straight to a copy of the slides that I utilized in my current 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 created the reduced URL..
Enjoy this short video to see how you can utilize the “+” trick to learn whats hidden behind a Bitly link..

Applications for Education.
Building great digital citizenship and cyber security abilities is something that everybody must be assisting our students do. Showing them little pointers like this one to prevent clicking on suspicious links is among the methods that we can assist our students build their digital citizenship and cyber safety skills.