Google has backtracked on its original plan to completely shut down all goo.gl shortened URLs by August 25, 2025. Instead of deactivating all links, Google will only disable those goo.gl URLs that showed no activity in late 2024. All other actively used goo.gl links will be maintained and continue to function normally. This reversal comes after Google received significant user feedback highlighting that many goo.gl links are still embedded and actively used across numerous documents, videos, posts, and more.
Originally, Google had stopped creating new goo.gl short links in 2019 and announced in mid-2024 that all goo.gl links would stop working completely on August 25, 2025, citing diminishing traffic with over 99% of links showing no recent activity. Beginning August 23, 2024, links with no activity started showing a warning message about their impending shutdown. Following reconsideration, Google confirmed it will preserve all goo.gl URLs that still have activity, meaning those links without the warning message will keep working beyond August 25, 2025.
To summarize:
- Inactive goo.gl URLs (no activity late 2024) will be deactivated as originally planned on August 25, 2025.
- Actively used goo.gl URLs will continue to operate normally.
- Warnings about deactivation are shown only on inactive links.
- Users are advised to check their links by clicking on them—if no warning appears, the link will remain functional.
This change reflects Google’s acknowledgment of the importance of these active links embedded widely across the web and is a partial reversal of their initial full shutdown plan.
Leave a Reply