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Google to end goo.gl link shortener service

Links shortened with goo.gl will keep working, but the search giant will phase out the creation of new shortened links.

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Laura Hautala
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Google's link shortener is going away, but goo.gl links will still work after the May 30 sunset date.

CNET

If you rely on Google Shortener to keep your links brief, you'll need to find a new way to send those pithy URLs.

Google announced Friday it will end its link-shortening service, also known as goo.gl, by May 30. The system turned long, screen-chewing URLs into manageable strings of text that were easier to paste into an email, tweet or blog post. 

Why is Google moving on? Not only have many other services risen up to fill this need, but the company says its time to focus on FireBase Dynamic Links instead. These are shortened links that work between different kinds of phones and desktop computers, and can send users to a specific place inside an app as well as a website.

"URL Shortener has been a great tool that we're proud to have built," said Google engineer Michael Hermanto in a blog post. "As we look towards the future, we're excited about the possibilities of Firebase Dynamic Links, particularly when it comes to dynamic platform detection and links that survive the app installation process."

As Tech Republic pointed out, URL shorteners have had their share of problems, including concerns that hackers are using them to hide links to malicious software. That's led shortened URLs to be banned on some websites.