If you use a shortened URL in your favorite browser, it will “link to” the full URL. For example, if you type www.google.com into your browser’s address bar, the shortened URL www.google.com/#q=%22shortened+url%22 will open up Google with the search term “shortened url.” ..
A few days ago we looked at some different URL shortening services and Extensions. But sometimes you need to know where the links are actually pointing to, as some can lead you to unsafe sites.
Note: There is a Firefox extension available for those who would prefer to use it in place of the bookmarklet.
Get the Bookmarklet
Here is a list of the “URL Shortening Services” that the bookmarklet will work for.
All that you need to do is drag the bookmarklet to your browser’s “Bookmarks Toolbar” and you are ready to reveal the real addresses behind those shortened URLs.
Before & After
For our example we visited the How-To Geek Twitter page. As you can see there are at least three different “URL Shortening Services” represented in this particular group of tweets…
You do not need to select/highlight any of the links…just one click on the bookmarklet and all of the shortened URLs in our group have been “converted back”. Now you can easily see the real addresses behind each shortened URL.
Conclusion
If you have been looking for an easy way to see the real addresses behind shortened URLs, then the Long URL Please Bookmarklet will certainly make a nice addition to your favorite browser. Also check out our previous post where we take a look at URL shortening services and extensions.
Get the Long URL Please Bookmarklet
Long URL Please Firefox Add-on
