Is the short link a verktoy.dev link?

No. We don’t run our own shortener service. The short link lives on the da.gd domain (for example da.gd/abcd), because da.gd is the one creating and redirecting the link. We just take your address, send it to the da.gd API and show you the response.

What is sent to da.gd?

The long web address you paste in. No personal information about you is sent along. But note that if the address itself contains sensitive parameters (for example a name, email or token in the query string), those go along to da.gd. Do not shorten links with secret information in the address; share the original directly through a secure channel instead.

Can I change or delete a link afterwards?

No. Because the link is created anonymously at da.gd, neither you nor we have an account tied to it, and there is no way to change or delete it from our side. If you need to control the link (stats, edits, deletion), use a dedicated shortener service with user accounts such as Bitly, Rebrandly or Kutt.it.

How long does the da.gd link live?

As long as the da.gd service is running. We don’t control the lifetime, da.gd does. Historically da.gd has been a stable free service, but we can’t guarantee links live forever. For archive links and important content, always share the full address alongside so the content still works if the shortener one day goes down.

URL Shortener - Create Short Links

How it works

Paste a long web address and get a short link you can share. The short link is created by the external service da.gd.

Note: this tool sends your web address to the external service da.gd to create the short link. It is the only part of the site that uses an external service; everything else is computed locally. Avoid shortening links that contain sensitive information in the address itself.

About this tool

The URL shortener takes a long web address and produces a shorter version that is easier to share in chat, email, SMS, speech or printed materials. A short link fits in character-limited messages, looks tidier and is easier to read out loud. This page uses the free external service da.gd to generate the short link; da.gd itself handles the redirect. This is in fact the only tool on verktoy.dev that calls a third party, every other tool runs one hundred per cent locally in your browser.

How to use it

Paste the long web address into the text field.
Click "Shorten" to send the address to da.gd and receive a short link.
Copy the short da.gd link and share it in chat, email or social media.
When someone clicks the link, da.gd redirects them to the original address.

Examples

Shorten a long QR link

Inputhttps://verktoy.dev/no/qr?text=Kontakt%20Alice&size=512&format=png&border=4&fg=%23000000&bg=%23ffffff

Outputhttps://da.gd/abcd

The short link lives on the da.gd domain, not verktoy.dev. All redirection is handled by da.gd; we store no data about the link on our side.

Common use cases

Share links on character-limited platforms like Twitter/X, Bluesky and SMS.
Print short URLs on business cards, flyers and posters where long text would look messy.
Read a URL aloud over the phone without losing a letter.
Send via SMS without the message splitting into several parts.
Hide ugly tracking parameters in marketing links for a tidier look.

Frequently asked questions

Is the short link a verktoy.dev link?: No. We don’t run our own shortener service. The short link lives on the da.gd domain (for example da.gd/abcd), because da.gd is the one creating and redirecting the link. We just take your address, send it to the da.gd API and show you the response.
What is sent to da.gd?: The long web address you paste in. No personal information about you is sent along. But note that if the address itself contains sensitive parameters (for example a name, email or token in the query string), those go along to da.gd. Do not shorten links with secret information in the address; share the original directly through a secure channel instead.
Can I change or delete a link afterwards?: No. Because the link is created anonymously at da.gd, neither you nor we have an account tied to it, and there is no way to change or delete it from our side. If you need to control the link (stats, edits, deletion), use a dedicated shortener service with user accounts such as Bitly, Rebrandly or Kutt.it.
How long does the da.gd link live?: As long as the da.gd service is running. We don’t control the lifetime, da.gd does. Historically da.gd has been a stable free service, but we can’t guarantee links live forever. For archive links and important content, always share the full address alongside so the content still works if the shortener one day goes down.

Technical background

Under the hood, the browser makes a simple HTTPS request to da.gd’s open API, typically `GET https://da.gd/s?url=<encoded-url>`, and receives the short URL back as plain text. No server on our side is involved; the request goes straight from your browser to da.gd. URL shorteners in general work as a lookup table: a unique short ID maps to a full URL. On click the server looks up the ID and returns HTTP 301 Moved Permanently or 302 Found with the Location header set to the full URL. 301 is permanent and cached by the browser; 302 is temporary and re-requested each time. Short random IDs often use base62 (a-z, A-Z, 0-9), giving 62^n possibilities for n characters: 4 chars = 14.7 million, 6 chars = 56.8 billion, plenty. da.gd chooses its own ID format and handles abuse, blocklists and uptime on its side; we have no control over that.