Summary
- In 2019, Google officially shut down its goo.gl link shortener service, making it impossible to create new links.
- Now, the company has announced that it’s finally killing the service. Existing goo.gl links will still work until August 25, 2025, but will display an interstitial page warning of the shutdown.
- Google suggests transitioning goo.gl links to avoid disruptions in workflows and social metadata embedding issues.
Eons ago (back in 2009), when the internet was still in its infancy (at least compared to the sprawling web it is now), Google launched a tool to improve the link sharing user experience. During the time when AOL, MSN and Yahoo were still the dominant messaging platforms, and WhatsApp was just a baby, Google came up with a solution that could shorten links, making it easier to share them, especially on platforms that imposed character limits.
Fast-forward to 2018, Google announced that the service, officially known as goo.gl will be shutting down in favor of Firebase Dynamic Links, and even recommended using services like Bitly and Ow.ly as direct substitutes. At the time, Google restricted new user access, but allowed existing users to make use of the service for the subsequent year. In 2019, however, it officially killed the service, and made it impossible to create new shortened links.
One aspect that Google didn’t kill, however, were the links themselves. goo.gl-shortened links have continued to work up until now, and they will continue to work for just a little bit longer, though we now know the day the shortened URLs will finally sunset.
As shared by Google in a new developer blog post, starting just over a month from now, on Friday, August 23, goo.gl links will begin displaying an interstitial page (a page that shows up before the desired webpage), notifying users that “this link will no longer work in the near future.” The date for end-of-support is set to August 25, 2025.
404 post sunset
Source: Google
Google says that the interstitial page will only show up on some existing links, though its presence will increase as we approach August 2025. Post shutdown, all goo.gl shortened links will result in a 404 error.
Google recommends transitioning these links as soon as possible, considering that the interstitial page can disrupt existing workflows. “If you’ve embedded social metadata in your destination page, the interstitial page will likely cause these to no longer show up where the initial link is displayed,” so it might just be the time to move to a more permanent solution.