URL shorteners have become commonplace due to the use of Twitter. Google offered its own URL shortener called goo.gl back in 2009, but the search giant just announced it is shutting down and being replaced.
In a post on the Google Developers blog, Firebase software engineer Michael Hermanto explains that the way we find content on the Internet has changed dramatically in the last decade. Google believes a simple URL shortener no longer works in 2018 for the need of the different devices people use to consume and share content.
From April 13, 2018 no new short links can be created using goo.gl by anonymous or new users. Existing users, meaning anyone who has already created goo.gl short links, will be able to continue using all features of the service until March 30, 2019. Once the date comes, the service is discontinued. Do worry, all existing short links will continue to work.
Google’s replacement for goo.gl is Firebase Dynamic Links (FDL). They are a much more advanced form of deep linking, which allow a link to be automatically tweaked depending on who the user is, where they link from, and what hardware they are using. The same FDL link will work on desktop, mobile, even within an app.
