GOOGLE has announced its shortened links will cease to work in 2025 – and users are not happy.
The tech behemoth notified users of the change in a blog post Thursday.
It is only the latest in a series of inconveniences after Google shut down its link shortening service, goo.gl, in 2019 without ending support for existing links.
At the time, the company urged developers to transition to Firebase Dynamic Links (FDL) instead, but that has also since been deprecated.
Google discourages users from adopting Dynamic Links in projects that don’t already use it.
In the blog post, the company claimed it had encouraged the initial migration to FDL due to “changes we’ve seen in how people find content on the internet” and the explosion of popular URL shortening services at the time.
“Today, the time has come to turn off the serving portion of Google URL Shortener,” the company wrote.
“Any developers using links built with the Google URL Shortener in the form https://goo.gl/* will be impacted, and these URLs will no longer return a response after August 25th, 2025.”
Beginning next month, goo.gl links will begin displaying a message notifying users that the link will not be supported after August 25, 2025.
Beginning this August 23, users will be directed to a notification that “this link will no longer work in the near future.”
Google says the percentage of links for which this message appears will only increase as the shutdown date draws closer.
After the deadline, all links will simply return a 404 error response.
Google urges users to transition their links as soon as possible to avoid disruptions in linked and embedded content.
However, this advice isn’t sitting well with developers.
Enraged Reddit users took to the social network to blast Google for discontinuing yet another project.
“They abandon everything,” one user lamented.
“Remember Google Reader? Google Wave? (This one is basically MS Teams now; Google was a decade too early but had the right idea.)”
“I miss the google that thought of its self as a benevolent steward of the internet,” another netizen lamented.
One Redditor claimed the company “did a 180” on their original mission statement, “Don’t Be Evil.”
And a particularly enraged user went as far as to dub the platform and its fans “dumber than a bag of bricks.”
The tech giant has earned a sour reputation among users for discontinuing its popular services and products.
The losses are so extensive that an online list has sprung up, aptly named the “Google Graveyard.”
The most recent tool to go was VPN by Google One, which met a grim end last month.
The virtual private network was designed to provide users with an extra layer of security by encrypting their internet traffic.
VPN by Google One – the virtual private network service encrypted users’ data and network activity and allowed them to mask their IP address. (2020-2024)
Google Podcasts – the podcast hosting platform doubled as an Android podcast listening app. (2018-2024)
Google Stadia – the cloud gaming service allowed users to stream gameplay through web browsers, TV, mobile apps, and Chromecast. (2019-2023)
YouTube Originals – the Google-owned company shuttered the program, which produced original content including scripted series, educational videos, and more. (2016-2022)
Google Hangouts – the cross-platform instant messaging service posed as a challenger to Microsoft’s Skype. (2013-2022)
YouTube Go – the app was aimed at making YouTube more accessible on mobile devices in emerging markets, with features like downloading video on Wi-Fi to view later. (2017-2022)
Google Duo – the video calling app allowed users to call anyone from their contact list. (2016-2022)
Cameos on Google – the tool allowed public figures to record video responses to the most common questions asked about them, which would display in Google Search results. (2018-2022)
Backup and Sync – the desktop software tool for Windows and macOS enabled users to sync files from Google Drive to their local machine. (2017-2021)
Google My Maps – the Android application allowed users to create custom maps for personal use or sharing on their mobile device. (2014-2021)