AI & Technologygoo.gl Shut Down: Which Google Short Links Still Work in 2026

Google's URL Shortener is closed, but not every goo.gl link is dead. Google limited new short links in 2018 and set March 30, 2019 to discontinue the API. Google said the goo.gl links that showed no activity in late 2024 would stop working after August 25, 2025, and that all other links are preserved. If you still create or expand goo.gl links in code, that code gets a 404 today (I checked on October 18, 2026). If you have goo.gl links in documents, emails or printed material, open each one: if it redirects without a message, Google says it will keep working.

If you landed here from an old link to the URL Shortener API docs or a tutorial that uses them, this is what changed and what to use now. The dates come from two Google Developers Blog posts and my deep-linking guide, as listed in the sources. I checked the old addresses myself on October 18, 2026.

Disclosure: App369 is my studio. I build and fix apps, including the links that open them, and the last section mentions what I sell. Google doesn't pay me for anything on this page.

What happened to goo.gl, and when

Google's 2024 post said more than 99% of existing goo.gl URLs had no activity in the last month. It does not say this is why it changed course in 2025.

What the old addresses do today

Checked on October 18, 2026:

• A request to googleapis.com/urlshortener/v1/url, the API that created and expanded goo.gl links, returned 404.
• developers.google.com/url-shortener and its getting-started page returned 404.
• One goo.gl link I tried, goo.gl/fbsS, returned a 302 redirect to google.com. A made-up goo.gl link returned 404, so a 404 doesn't tell you whether a link was deactivated or never existed.
• Google's 2018 post now carries a note at the top pointing to the 2024 announcement.

Which goo.gl links still work

What to do if you still use goo.gl

This section is my advice, not Google's.

1. Search your code for the API. Look for urlshortener/v1, goo.gl and any URL Shortener client library in your app, backend and scripts. Anything that creates or expands links through the API now gets a 404. If your code ignores errors, you may not have noticed.
2. Find the links you published. Check your website, app screens, emails, PDFs, QR codes, videos and printed material for goo.gl links. Printed QR codes are the hardest to fix, so start there.
3. Open each link. Google says a link that redirects without a message will keep working. A link that returns 404 doesn't work, and I know of no way to restore it, so replace it wherever it appears.
4. Replace links you control with links on your own domain. A short path on your own domain, such as /go/spring-offer, can redirect wherever you need, and it keeps working whichever shortener or host you use later.
5. Use app links for app content. If a short link was meant to open your app, use Universal Links on iOS and Android App Links on your own domain. The deep-linking guide covers the setup.
6. Move off Dynamic Links too. If you followed Google's 2018 advice and moved to Firebase Dynamic Links, those page.link links stopped on August 25, 2025, so they need the same treatment.

My advice from both shutdowns: put short links on a domain you own. Google has now shut down Dynamic Links and cut back goo.gl, two link services developers built on. Links on a domain you own stay under your control.

Need a hand?

If an app's links stopped opening the right screen, or a backend still calls the old API, the App Fix Ticket covers it in two fixed-price steps. A $450 Diagnosis gives you the root cause with evidence and a fixed repair quote within 3 business days, credited toward the fix. If you go ahead, the $1,200 Fix takes 5 business days. If you're not sure where your links point, send me a short description.