Free tool
Where does this link actually lead?
Paste any link — the checker follows its redirects server-side and shows every hop with its HTTP status.
Why expand a link before clicking
A short link is a promise: “this leads somewhere useful.” Most of the time it does. But the same indirection that makes short links convenient also makes them the standard wrapper for phishing pages, malware downloads and affiliate detours — the visible address tells you nothing about the destination. Expanding the chain first shows you the endpoint without your browser ever visiting it, along with every intermediate stop the click would pass through.
The intermediate stops matter more than people expect. Each hop is a server that sees your click, can set cookies, and adds latency. Marketers stack shortener on tracker on affiliate network, and the result is a chain of four or five redirects where each one can fail independently. If you manage links yourself, keeping chains to a single hop is one of the cheapest performance and reliability wins available — our guide on tracking link clicks explains what each redirect layer actually contributes.
How this checker behaves
The trace runs on our servers, not in your browser, so the destination never sees your address or cookies. It follows up to ten redirects with a five-second timeout per hop and identifies itself honestly in the user-agent header. Every address in the chain is validated before it is requested: links pointing into private networks, loopback ranges or cloud metadata services are refused — the same validation the platform applies to every destination its customers save. If a chain leads into such an address, the trace stops and tells you so.
Link owners on the platform rarely need this tool for their own links: the dashboard shows the destination, status and click history of every link directly, and destination changes propagate to the edge in seconds.
Frequently asked questions
Does checking a link count as a click for its owner?
Usually yes — the checker performs a real HTTP request, which most shorteners count. It identifies itself with an honest user-agent string, so well-behaved analytics can classify it as a bot check rather than a human visit.
Why did the trace stop with a “private network” warning?
The chain pointed at an address inside a private or internal network range. The checker never requests such addresses. For a link you were asked to click, treat that as a strong warning sign.
How many redirects are too many?
One or two are normal — a shortener plus perhaps a tracking hop. Chains of four and more add latency on every click, dilute SEO signals, and often indicate stacked tracking services; ten is where this tool stops following.
Can the checker open password-protected or expired links?
No — it reports exactly what a first-time visitor would receive: a password page, a 410 Gone for an expired link, or an error status. It never bypasses whatever the link owner configured.
Run links people can trust
Branded domains tell visitors where a link leads before they click — and raise click-through for it.
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