So now that bit.ly is showing ads, if you need a URL shortener, #lynx is decent and #accessible and easy to host. And before you tell me that we don't need URL shorteners anymore and how they're a security risk, I need them for:
1. Business cards, slides, signs, and other physical objects that need a URL. While most phones can scan QR Codes, you can't read them out loud for #blind folks. If you're doing a presentation, "scan the QR code on screen" isn't good enough. You need to have a URL that you can speak and another human can remember. Yes, NFC is a thing, but it doesn't solve that problem.
2. Places that still don't allow URLs (LinkedIn) or where long URLs are awkward to work with (text-only emails, the terminal, etc.)
3. Times (like a phone call) where I need to tell someone a URL using the noises that come from my face-parts

Find it here: getlynx.dev/
#a11y #bitly

Tired of unwanted ads on your Bitly links?

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Easily back up your Bitly data and import it into YOURLS for a seamless, ad-free experience.

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#Bitly #YOURLS #OpenSource #URLShortener

https://github.com/Lazza/BitlyEscape

#Business #Reviews
Goodbye Bitly · New preview page with ads is a major step back https://ilo.im/162cz3

_____
#Bitly #UrlShortener #Service #Advertising #Pricing #Marketing #SocialMedia #Website #Webpage #LandingPage

I haven't used the URL shortener #Bitly for ages but I deleted my account after a user-hostile email from them. There is no way I'd subject someone to a preview page full of ads prior to viewing the link. They say "may" but mean "will":

"Beginning in the next month, when your audience interacts with your Bitly links or QR Codes, they may see a preview page prior to being directed to the destination URL. The page includes information about the link destination and may include advertising."

Самый популярный сокращатель ссылок #Bitly теперь будет показывать рекламу при переходе по сокращённым ссылкам bit.ly. Чтобы избавиться от рекламы, компания предлагает создателям сокращённых ссылок оплатить подписку. Но большинство ссылок bit.ly были созданы очень давно, раскиданы по всему интернету и забыты. А ещё их походу нельзя удалить.

https://support.bitly.com/hc/en-us/articles/32874287800333-Why-are-there-ads-on-my-links

А помните сокращатель ссылок Adfly? Он тоже показывал рекламу (УЖАСНУЮ рекламу), но хотя бы делился доходами с создателями ссылок. А Bitly будет забирать все доходы себе, по их словам, чтобы обеспечить сервис бесплатным пользователям.

#Bitly Changes: Link-Shortening, Now with Advertising

https://tedium.co/2025/02/07/bitly-terms-of-service-change/

So apparently bit.ly links created under the free plan will now show a "destination preview" which is an "interstitial page that includes a preview of the link destination and an ad".

https://support.bitly.com/hc/en-us/articles/32874287800333-Why-are-there-ads-on-my-links

The irony of TicketMaster's breach notification email
https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/06/the-irony-of-ticketmasters-breach-notification-email/

TicketMaster has joined the long list of companies to lose their customers' information. As is common, they sent out an email to warn poor sods like me who might have had our details snaffled.

Their email is particularly poor and contains a delightful example of how not to communicate issues like this. See if you can spot it:

In the same breath as warning their customers to look out for suspicious links in emails, they include two obfuscated Bit.ly links!

Anyone can create a Bit.ly link and give it any name.

For example - https://bit.ly/TicketMaster-DataSecurity-Incident.

I've written many times before about Bit.ly and why you should not use it. It stops users understanding where they're going, it trains users to ignore what a link says, it exposes your users to unwanted tracking, and it puts your links under the control of a 3rd party.

If you are ever confronted with a Bit.ly link, add a + to the end of it to see its destination - for example https://bit.ly/TU-sign-up+.

Companies need to do much better. Professional crisis communications writers need to understand the Internet and how to foster a culture of security.

https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/06/the-irony-of-ticketmasters-breach-notification-email/

As Mastodon doesn't (I think this is still the case) send referer information, I need to start using #Bitly to try and see what traffic from here is like.

Honestly, I share here because it's kinda relevant, but not to be pushy, as I'm mostly here for the chats.

I'm just curious.

If you haven't seen my #LOTRO Spring Fest guide, my bitly link is here.

https://bit.ly/spring-festival-lotro

Apparently Mastodon "cards" link to the end URL not the Bitly redirect one. Any idea why @gamepad? Thanks!

There are #DataLeaks and then there’s this. A supermassive Mother of all Breaches [#MOAB] includes records from thousands of meticulously compiled and reindexed leaks, breaches, and privately sold databases. The full and searchable list is included at the end of this article.

#LinkedIn, #Twitter, #Weibo, #Tencent, #Bitly, #Foursquare, #TeeSping, #Fox, and many, many, many more ...

@cybernews
https://cybernews.com/security/billions-passwords-credentials-leaked-mother-of-all-breaches/

Seems I’ve gotten to a breaking point with #Bitly, working on standing up my own lil URL shortener

Guten Morgen,
12°C

Brotdose liegt neben dem Monitor.
Ganz bestimmt.
Damit ist Abendbrot gesichert..

Das #Jobcenter hat #fragebogen verschickt.
Aber keinen Antwortkuvert dabei.

Kannste auch #online machen.
Anstatt aber die Adresse da rein zu schreiben: #qrcode

Huch #bitly ? #Telekom Homepagedesigner ?

**Die haben doch einen an der Klatsche!**

@B2Spirit_TT You do know URL shorteners like #Bitly are pointless on #Mastodon and make you seem less trustworthy by obscuring the destination? Every link uses 23 characters of your post, no more, no less: https://docs.joinmastodon.org/user/posting/#links:~:text=In%20fact,%20using%20a%20link%20shortener%20is%20actively%20discouraged

When you use #ChatGPT to spark up your posts but it produces a mysterious #bitly link...