Google URL shortener (goo.gl): what happened, and what to use now
Google shut down its URL shortener and turned off goo.gl links nobody was using. Here is what still works, and how to move your links somewhere you control.
The short answer
You cannot make goo.gl links any more, and you have not been able to since 2018. Links that were still getting clicks in late 2024 keep working. The rest stopped on August 25, 2025, and will not come back. If you need a link shortener now, make new links on a service you can leave, ideally on a domain you own.
What Google did, and when
2018
Google announces the end of its URL shortener and stops taking new links. Existing ones keep redirecting.
July 2024
Google says every goo.gl link will stop working after August 25, 2025, and answer with a 404.
August 23, 2024
A growing share of links start showing a notice before they redirect: “This link will no longer work in the near future.”
August 1, 2025
Google changes the plan: only links with no activity in late 2024, the ones showing the notice, will stop. Links still in use keep working.
August 25, 2025
The links that showed the notice stop working.
Move your goo.gl links to rdyrct in four steps.
- 1
Find where each link went
Open each goo.gl link you still have. If it redirects, note the destination. If it is dead, look for the address in the email, document or post where you first shared it.
- 2
Make a new short link
Paste the destination into rdyrct. On the free plan the link gets a random slug on our domain. From $4 a month it can sit on your own domain, with words you choose.
- 3
Replace the old link where people find it
Update your website, profiles, email signatures and documents. For anything printed, make a QR code for the new short link.
- 4
Watch the clicks
Every link counts its clicks by country, referrer and device, so you can see which old places still send people.
Why your own domain matters
A goo.gl link belonged to Google, so when Google stopped, so did the link, on every flyer and in every old email. A link on a domain you own, such as go.yourcompany.com/menu, keeps its address whichever service sits behind it. rdyrct includes one custom domain on Hobby ($4 a month) and 5 on Pro ($9), and it is open source, so you can run it yourself.
Questions
Do goo.gl links still work?
Some do. Google kept the links that were still in use and turned off the ones that showed a deactivation notice in late 2024. To check one, open it: if it takes you straight to the page with no message, Google says it will keep working.
Are maps.app.goo.gl links affected?
No. Google says goo.gl links its own apps make, such as the ones Google Maps shares, keep working.
Can I get my dead goo.gl link back?
No. Google does not reactivate them or move them elsewhere. Make a new short link to the same destination and replace the old one wherever you can.
How do I stop this happening again?
Put your short links on a domain you own. If a link service ever closes or changes its terms, you point the domain somewhere else and the links you printed keep their address.