After 9 years of service, Google is shutting down its popular URL Shortener — goo.gl. Launched back in 2009, goo.gl became one of the favorite services to help people more easily share lengthy links by shrinking them and measure traffic online.
Today company has announced turning down support for goo.gl URL shortener. So from April 13, 2018, goo.gl console will be only available for existing users — with access to all features like creation, management, and analytics until March 30, 2019 — when the console will be discontinued.
So what happens to the goo.gl links after discontinuation? — According to Google, even after the full takedown of service after 1 year, all links will continue to redirect to the intended destination.
Why is Google shutting down goo.gl? — In an official blog post company noted, “Since then, many popular URL shortening services have emerged and the ways people find content on the Internet have also changed dramatically, from primarily desktop web pages to apps, mobile devices, home assistants, and more. To refocus our efforts, we’re turning down support for goo.gl over the coming weeks and replacing it with Firebase Dynamic Links (FDL).FDLs are smart URLs that allow you to send existing and potential users to any location within an iOS, Android or web app“.
For normal users, Google recommends using popular services like Bitly and Ow.ly as an alternative. And for developers, the company suggests FDL APIs to create new short links — as only projects that have accessed URL Shortener APIs before March 30, 2018, can create short links.
