28 Apr How to See What’s Hidden Behind a TinyURL

Last week I wrote a blog post about how to see what’s hidden behind a Bitly shortened URL without actually clicking on the link. The trick is to add “+” to the end of the Bitly URL to see what’s behind it without clicking on it. A few people emailed me to ask if the that worked with other URL shortening services. The answer is it works with TinyURLs. 

I’ve tried the “+” trick with a bunch of other URL shortening tools and TinyURL is the only one besides Bitly that I’ve found it to work with. 

What’s the trick?
The trick is to add a “+” to the end of any TinyURL address in order to land on a safe TinyURL page that reveals what the original link was that got shortened. You can then decide if you want to click through to the destination or not.

If you want to try this with a TinyURL, tinyurl.com/emkns9a8 will lead you to the page for the Practical Ed Tech Virtual Summer Camp, but adding a “+” at the end of that TinyURL will take you to the page where you can see the original link without clicking on it.

Here’s a video overview of how to see what’s behind a TinyURL without actually clicking on the link.

Last week I wrote a blog post about how to see what’s hidden behind a Bitly shortened URL without actually clicking on the link. The trick is to add “+” to the end of the Bitly URL to see what’s behind it without clicking on it. A few people emailed me to ask if the that worked with other URL shortening services. The answer is it works with TinyURLs. I’ve tried the “+” trick with a bunch of other URL shortening tools and TinyURL is the only one besides Bitly that I’ve found it to work with. What’s the trick?The trick is to add a “+” to the end of any TinyURL address in order to land on a safe TinyURL page that reveals what the original link was that got shortened. You can then decide if you want to click through to the destination or not. If you want to try this with a TinyURL, tinyurl.com/emkns9a8 will lead you to the page for the Practical Ed Tech Virtual Summer Camp, but adding a “+” at the end of that TinyURL will take you to the page where you can see the original link without clicking on it. Here’s a video overview of how to see what’s behind a TinyURL without actually clicking on the link. Applications for EducationAs I wrote last week, building good digital citizenship and cyber safety skills is something that all of us should be helping our students do. Showing them little tips like this one to avoid clicking on suspicious links is one of the ways that we can help our students build their digital citizenship and cyber safety skills.This post originally appeared on FreeTech4Teachers.com. If you see it elsewhere, it has been used without permission. Sites that regularly steal my (Richard Byrne’s) work include CloudComputin, TodayHeadline, and 711Web.cyber safety, cyber security, Free Technology For Teachers, how to, tinyurl, URL shortenersRead More