Google has announced the final shutdown of its URL-shortening service, Google URL Shortener (goo.gl), effective August 25, 2025. This transition is a culmination of Google’s shift towards Firebase Dynamic Links (FDL) initiated in 2018, which aims to adapt to evolving internet usage patterns and new URL-shortening services.
Developers using goo.gl links will be directly impacted by this shutdown. Effective August 25, 2025, these URLs will cease functioning, and requests to goo.gl will result in a 404 error.
Developers who have used goo.gl for link management should now transition to alternative services or Google’s Firebase Dynamic Links due to this change.
The phasing-out process will occur gradually, allowing users time to adapt. Beginning on August 23, 2024, some goo.gl links will start showing a temporary notification page. This page will alert users that the service will be discontinued after August 25, 2025, and then direct them to their intended website.
Pages with shortened links will show this warning: “This link will no longer work in the near future. goo.gl links will no longer function after August 25th, 2025.”
As the final shutdown date approaches, these notification pages will appear more frequently. These pages are designed to help developers track and transition affected links.
However, it may cause issues with existing goo.gl links, particularly those that use additional redirects or include social media metadata. This intermediary step could block redirects from functioning properly and disrupt the presentation of embedded information.
To minimise disruptions, developers can suppress the interstitial page by adding the query parameter ‘si=1’ to existing goo.gl links. Despite this temporary fix, Google strongly recommends transitioning to Firebase Dynamic Links or other URL-shortening services as soon as possible to ensure a smooth and uninterrupted user experience.
In the News: Microsoft 365 outage caused by Azure config change
