Google is shutting down its URL shortening service
The company has announced that Google’s URL shortening service, goo.gl, will stop working altogether as of August 25, 2025.
In a announcement Google announced on its developer blog that goo.gl links will return a 404 error after August 2025, rendering them inactive and unusable. While users have been given ample warning, users of previously generated goo.gl links are urged to update them and find suitable alternatives.
Starting August 23, 2024, goo.gl links will display a warning message to let users know they will no longer work. Google is warning developers that the interstitial page may break the functionality of their links, especially those with 302 redirects.
goo.gl links will no longer work from 2025
The news marks the latest phase in Google’s long-term shutdown of the service, which was announced in 2018 and went into effect in 2019.
Google announced in 2018 that it would shut down its URL shortening service, and a year later, in 2019, it stopped creating new links. When the service finally shuts down, it will have been more than six years since the company made the initial announcement.
Article authors and engineers Sumit Chandel and Eldhose Mathokkil Babu wrote: “Today is the time to disable the serving part of Google URL Shortener.”
Developers can suppress the intermediate page by adding the query parameter “si=1” to existing goo.gl links. However, this is a temporary solution and only a replacement service can guarantee continued functionality.
Moving forward, Google recommends that previous goo.gl customers use services like Bitly and Ow.ly. When the company first announced the change, it said it would focus its efforts on Firebase Dynamic Links, but that’s also scheduled for August 2025 disapprovaldevelopers can better use the services of another provider.
