Want to know where a short URL like https://bit.ly/42O0rSm will take you and whether that page is safe to visit? Find here the best short URL expander to check (as well as its best alternatives).
First, Kevin Gilbertson Posts a Screenshot
on his new website in 2002. It shows the Mozilla 0.9.7 browser (a descendant of Netscape and precursor to Firefox) rendering the very website.
You can still see the screenshot today, and you can still use the mountain unicyclist‘s new website, TinyURL.com to shorten long, unhandy URLs. (You can, of course, do so using Mozilla 0.9.7; here is a screenshot.)
Wondering where a TinyURL.com link or one shortened with another such service will take you, though, and whether that page is safe to render and use?
Use one of the following services. Some post screenshots, too!
The Best URL Expander Reviewed (and 6 Short Link Tools More)
1. GetLinkInfo.com – Best Link Expander
Go here first. In most compact and easy to grasp a manner, GetLinkInfo.com shows you all the information you need for an unknown link—shortened or not.
Most importantly, GetLinkInfo.com immediately points out links unsafe to follow. While the Google Safe Browsing it uses to check safety usually does a solid job, a selection of security solutions might give you a more rounded understanding. Very helpfully, GetLinkInfo.com also checks the links on the redirected page for safety.
Other than the missing screenshot of linked pages perhaps, GetLinkInfo.com helps you understand the page with essential information, though: you get the title and description, of course, together with the full redirection chain (if a URL is redirected multiple times).
GetLinkInfo.com Pros
- GetLinkInfo.com alerts you to unsafe short links (using Google Safe Browsing)
- Lets you examine links on the page as well
GetLinkInfo.com Cons
- Does not display a screenshot of the final page
- Browser extensions would be a handy addition
2. Expand URL – Best Link Expander Alternative
Expand URL gives you a good idea where a shortened link will take you: besides the destination page’s title and description, you get to see a screenshot and all redirects in between.
As a side note, Expand URL also shows the full URL’s content type and meta information (keywords and description) as well as its safety as gauged by Google Safe Browsing. Unfortunately, this is also but a side note in Expand URL; possibly unsafe links could be highlighted more effectively.
Other than that, Expand URL does offer a robust and useful accumulation of crucial information.
Expand URL Pros
- Displays a screenshot of full URL’s page
- Extra information includes meta tags and the page’s content type
Expand URL Cons
- Cannot bulk-expand URLs
- Warnings for unsafe pages could be more prominent
3. Link Unshortener
To undo the shortening of a link, you need not follow it. Link Unshortener does the following for you and displays assorted information in helpfully concise a manner.
You get to see the final URI, of course, but also the associated domain’s registrar and creation date—to see if a domain has been suspiciously short-lived, for instance. Speaking of suspicions, Link Unshortener also shows a (unfortunately not too prominent) warning about potentially unsafe links presumably from Google Safe Browsing together with links to various sites that let you check web site safety.
Most helpfully for knowing what to expect from a short URL, Link Unshortener also shows a current screenshot of the final destination. To that destination, it follows chains of short links and redirects, but does not display the full path.
All in all, Link Unshortener is easy to use and helpful at hand.
Link Unshortener Pros
- Expands chains of shortened links
- Displays a screenshot of the linked page
- Concise security information and links to URL safety checkers
Link Unshortener Cons
- Could show more information about the final URL
- Does not display the chain of links followed
4. Link Expander
Link Expander tackles shortened URLs one link—and, sometimes, one step—at a time.
Enter a link about whose destination you are unsure into Link Expander’s single entry field, and it will dutifully return the resulting link. Helpfully, it adds a screenshot as well as a quick check against spam lists and website classifiers.
if the destination is itself a link that redirects, Link Expander follows the chain, of course, albeit not always. It stops at certain TinyURL links, for instance, and will present them as the ultimate destination when they are not. You can (and should) do that manually, of course, but that involves copying the destination URL and entering it again.
All in all, Link Expander is a swift companion that returns the essential information—most of the time.
Link Expander Pros
- Returns a screenshot and some safety information
- Works with several dozen URL shorteners
- Simple interface
Link Expander Cons
- Fails to expand certain redirecting URLs
- Security checks could be more involved
5. Website Planet Redirect Tracker
Wish to know where a (short) URI will take you—and nothing more?
Website Planet’s Redirect Tracker is the tool for the job: without much fuss or superfluous information, it draws the path and chain to the final page the link will open.
While the display is graphic and includes HTTP return codes (the likes of 302 and 301), which you may not need to know, Redirect Tracker fails to check the final URL’s security, about which you might want to know. A screenshot as well as any other information is also missing.
Still, Website Planet Redirect Tracker does produce the information it does in a very sleek and useful manner.
Website Planet Redirect Tracker Pros
- Very clean display
- Available in many languages
- Offers information for the HTTP codes
Website Planet Redirect Tracker Cons
- No security information about the expanded link
- Redirect Tracker offers no screenshot or preview
6. CheckShortURL
Do you care for multiple views directly, if possible, from their sources? Instead of integrating safety checks in its display, CheckShortURL lets check the expanded URL for any shortened link with a host of services.
Did I write “any shortened link?” Unfortunately, CheckShortURL failed to expand some of the short URLs I threw its way. The safety checking links, likewise, are not all up to date.
While CheckShortURL, finally, displays a screenshot of the expanded URL in prominently helpful a manner, the rest of the information is a bit haphazard. I’d wager you typically do not care so much about the type of HTTP redirection used or the time it took to expand the short address.
Either way, CheckShortURL is a useful URL expander for the security links it offers.
CheckShortURL Pros
- Lets you easily check the security using online services
CheckShortURL Cons
- Not entirely reliable
- Does not incorporate security scan in its display
7. URL-Expander
URL-Expander does just that: it expands URLs.
The emphasis is on “just.” Hand URL-Expander a link, and it will return the page to which the link eventually leads, nothing more: no title, no screenshot, no intermediate steps, and no unsafe link warning either.
That means URL-Expander is particularly easy to use for just finding out what full URL hides behind a shortened one, but else it is of not much use. On the plus side, URL-Expander offers an API that lets you include its link expansion in your software projects—say, to build an app that expands as well as analyzes short URLs.
URL-Expander Pros
- Includes an API that expands URLs programmatically
URL-Expander Cons
- Does nothing but expand the URL to its full length
- No safety checks
(The best link expander tested in a desktop browser; updated January 2024)