Google App Link Shortener Setting Now Lets You Share Original URLs on Android
Tired of Google turning your shared links into shortened URLs? Android users finally have a way to disable the Google app’s automatic link shortener. When you share a webpage through Google Search or Discover, the app typically converts it into a short link like share.google.com/xyz. While convenient for brevity, these links can obscure where they actually lead—something privacy-conscious users and developers have long criticized. With the latest update, Google now gives you control to turn this feature off directly within the app. This small but significant change brings more transparency and choice to link sharing. Let’s break down what this means and how to use the new feature.
Understanding the Google App Link Shortener on Android
For years, the Google app on Android has automatically shortened URLs when users shared search results or articles from the Discover feed. These links took the form of share.google.com/xyz, masking the actual destination behind Google’s proprietary redirection system. While this helped track engagement and improve sharing performance across devices, it also raised concerns over user control and transparency. Users often found it frustrating not being able to see or share the original website address.
The link shortener particularly affected content shared directly from Google Search or Discover, where pages didn’t fully open in a standard browser but rather in a lightweight Chrome Custom Tab inside the Google app. The new update now empowers users to share the full URL instead of the shortened version, provided the page has been opened before tapping the share icon. It’s a move toward offering more customization and reducing dependency on proprietary URL formats.
How to Disable Google App’s Link Shortener on Android
To disable the link shortener in the Google app, make sure you’re using the latest version—either stable or beta, with version 16.23 or later. Follow these steps:
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Open the Google app on your Android device.
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Tap your profile avatar at the top-right corner.
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Go to Settings > Other settings.
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You’ll find a new option labeled “Shorten links to web pages”.
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Toggle it off to start sharing full URLs instead of shortened ones.
By default, this setting is enabled, which means Google still shortens your shared links unless you manually change it. It’s also important to note that this setting doesn’t apply to Discover feed links that you haven’t opened yet. Those links still get shortened to search.app format. This inconsistency might be a temporary oversight or a future target for another update, but for now, only pages you’ve actively opened can benefit from the new toggle.
Why This Matters: Transparency, Privacy, and User Control
Sharing links online isn’t just about convenience—it’s also about trust. Many users want to see where a link is taking them before clicking, and website owners often prefer direct traffic instead of obscured referrers. By disabling the Google app link shortener, Android users now gain greater control over their shared content, helping reduce confusion and enhance transparency.
From an SEO perspective, direct links are also more valuable for referral tracking and allow better engagement analytics for web publishers. Shortened links often strip away context, making it harder to identify traffic sources. Additionally, developers and privacy advocates have argued that link shorteners can inadvertently lead to user tracking and data collection, especially when handled through third-party redirects.
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