Opening the link…
Anyone who has the link — or guesses its 3 characters — can open it. Do not shorten private links.
How it works
Paste a long address and press Shorten: you get a link made of this site's address and 3 characters, such as …/link/X7K, already copied so you can paste or share it. On another device, open that address, or type the 3 characters in “Got a 3-character code?”. The link works for 24 hours. Tick “Single use” to have it destroyed after the first opening, and attach a small file (subtitles, for example) to have it downloaded along with the link. Unlike the other tools, the address and the file are stored on a server (Google Firebase) so that another device can find them.
Questions
How do I open a short link on another device?
Type the whole address in the browser, or come to this page and type only the 3 characters in “Got a 3-character code?”. Upper or lower case does not matter, and the letters I, L and O are read as the digits 1 and 0, so a code read aloud cannot be mistyped.
What is stored, and for how long?
The long address, the attached file and whether the link is single use, on a Google Firebase server; no account, name or e-mail. The link opens for 24 hours. A single-use link and its file are deleted as soon as it is opened; the others can no longer be opened after 24 hours and are overwritten when their code is reused. Anyone who has the link, or guesses its 3 characters, can open it: do not shorten private links.
What does “single use” do?
The link is destroyed the first time someone opens it, together with its file; after that, it says the link was already used. Do not open it yourself to check it, or it will be gone. If two people open it at the same moment, only the first one gets through.
Can I attach a file?
Yes, one file up to 200 KB, enough for subtitles, a short text or a small image. Programs and installers (.exe, .apk, .dmg…) are refused. Whoever opens the link sees a page with the address, an Open link button and a button to download the file.
Which links can I shorten?
Web addresses (http, https, ftp), up to 8,192 characters; an address without http:// gets https:// added. Also links that open an app: magnet (torrents), mailto (e-mail), tel, sms and geo (maps). Then the page opens the app and keeps an Open button in case nothing happened.
Why does my link no longer work?
It is more than 24 hours old, it was single use and someone already opened it, or a character was mistyped. Creating or opening a link also needs an Internet connection. Create a new link: it takes a second.