Back in 2009, Google launched its URL Shortener service (goo.gl), allowing people to easily share links and measure traffic online. In 2018, Google announced it would discontinue goo.gl and recommended developers migrate to Firebase Dynamic Links (FDL). Google promised at the time that all existing goo.gl links would continue to redirect to the intended destination. Today, Google announced that it will stop redirecting goo.gl links next year. So, all the millions of goo.gl links created by consumers and developers using Google URL Shortener will no longer work after August 25, 2025.
From August 23, 2024, a certain percentage of existing goo.gl links will start displaying an interstitial page like the one below to notify users that the link will no longer be supported after August 25, 2025. Over time, Google will increase the percentage of links that show the interstitial page until the shutdown date. After the shutdown date, all goo.gl links will return a 404 response.
The Google team wrote the following regarding the goo.gl redirection retirement:
"We understand the transition away from using goo.gl short links may cause some inconvenience. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us at Firebase Support. Thank you for using the service, and we hope you join us in moving forward into new and innovative ways for navigating web and app experiences."
While the interstitial page may help track and adjust affected links, it may cause problems with 302 redirects. It will prevent the redirect flow from completing correctly. Also, the embedded social metadata of the destination page will no longer show where the initial link was displayed. So, goo.gl users are advised to transition their links as soon as possible. To prevent the interstitial page from affecting your existing cases, you can add the new query parameter "si=1" to existing goo.gl links.
Source: Google - Image via Depositphotos.com