Editor's take: The number of services Google has chosen to retire is starting to resemble a digital massacre. While Mountain View excels at launching new products, its track record for long-term support is far less impressive, and that should concern everyone.
Google is moving ahead with its previously announced plan to kill off billions of internet links created through its URL shortener service. All URLs using the "goo.gl" domain will stop working entirely by August 25, 2025, returning a standard HTTP 404 error.
The company originally deprecated the Goo.gl service in 2018, urging developers and web admins to switch to its newer Firebase Dynamic Links. However, FDL was also eventually deprecated, though Google continued to resolve existing goo.gl links to their original destinations.
In 2024, Google confirmed the final shutdown date. The company noted that over 99 percent of shortened links were seeing no traffic, citing a shift in how people access the internet. Google encouraged users to move on to what it called "new and innovative" ways of browsing the web, including app-based experiences.
Since Google's 2024 announcement, goo.gl links have been displaying a warning about the service's impending shutdown. That message will disappear soon as well, as goo.gl prepares to join the ever-growing graveyard of products and services abandoned by Google over the years.
Meanwhile, alternatives like TinyURL continue shortening millions of links daily and show no signs of exiting the market anytime soon.
In fact, URL shorteners have become more relevant than ever. With platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and others routinely generating bloated, multi-parameter URLs, condensed links are now essential for sharing content efficiently via messaging apps, custom websites, or QR codes.
Goo.gl's demise also serves as a stark reminder of Google's unpredictable product strategy. The former "don't be evil" company has a long history of launching services, pushing users to adopt them, and then quietly pulling the plug just a few years later. Now it's playing the same game with AI, so enjoy Gemini while it lasts. It might not be long before it's buried alongside Inbox, Stadia, Google+, and yes, goo.gl. I'll bet my Google+ page on it.
Goo.gl killed by Google: Billions of shortened links to die next month
