URL Shorteners are an integral tool for businesses that use short links to share content. Of course, all businesses know that when sharing content online, you must ensure that the content is shared securely. You may not want just anyone to be able to access your link. Additionally, you do not want scammers to be able to access your data on your tiny URL shortener. As such, it is important for enterprises to use a link shortener that takes secure sharing seriously.
In this article, you will find a list of the 5 best link shorteners for secure sharing. In turn, we list the security features that each link shortener implements. Any of the URL shorteners on this list are a solid choice for enterprises that must prioritize secure link sharing.
What is Link Sharing?
First, let’s briefly answer the question “what is link sharing”. Link sharing is the process of sharing a website or file with a link to its web address. A link shortener is a platform that turns long URL addresses into short links that are easier to share and track. Professional link shorteners include security features that stop anyone from accessing or changing your link that you don’t approve. This is why it’s important for businesses to use a secret URL shortener with security features instead of a public URL shortener like TinyURL, which is much less safe.
Read on to learn how to create a secure URL with the top secret URL shorteners.
Top 5 Secret Link Generators
A well-known link shortener with enterprise-level analytics and security
Features
- SSO (single sign-on) with SAML 2.0, SCIM 1.1 and 2.0 lets you set up your account with an IDP to simplify login while maintaining security standards.
- Set up 2FA so nobody can access your account without your mobile device.
- Built-in safeguards protect your domain’s privacy (Domain Guard).
- No private links; all Bitly links are public and can be accessed by anyone, making link sharing less secure. There is not bit.ly password protect feature. While Bitly is safe, it is not as secure as other link shorteners on this list.
An affordable advanced link shortener with team sharing and self destruct settings
Features
- Droplr includes SSO with Okta, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Identity for secure link login.
- Admins have access to a security panel from which they can access data for their teams and the individuals on those teams. This panel includes a “risk score” which calculates the security on your account.
- SSL/TLS data encryption ensures secure share links.
- Droplr is compliant with GDPR, SOC 2, HIPPA, and the EU-US Privacy Shield.
- You can set any link’s privacy to public, private, or team-only. You can also create password-protected links or place links into password-protected folders.
- Links can be set to self-destruct down to the hour.
A free custom link shortener that lets you design your own tool and control your data
Features
- Fully design your own custom URL shortener using YOURLS’ set of PHP scripts.
- Own all of your data instead of relying on third-party services.
- You can set your custom link shortener to public or private, which determines whether others can create secure URLs with your service.
- Set statistics pages to public or private.
- Ban certain words from use in your secure URLs.
- Protect your admin area with a sign-in and password.
An affordable link shortener with professional-level customization tools
Features
- Rebrandly is GDPR compliant.
- You can set when links expire.
- You can set up 2FA on any pricing plan, including Rebrandly’s free plan.
- Use SSO to sign in to your account.
- SSL Encryption lets you encrypt URLs.
- Set analytics reports to either public or private.
An enterprise-level link shortener with pricing plans for every type of business
Features
- Specify a date to archive or delete your links. After archiving a link, you can reroute traffic to your homepage.
- Use SSO or Social Sign-On (Google, Facebook, or LinkedIn) to ensure protected quick access to your account.
- You can set up 2FA for your account.
- Customers on BLINK’s enterprise plan can blacklist or whitelist domains to restrict access to unapproved sites.
- BLINK can mirror your enterprise’s IT authentication recipes, including but not limited to password length, frequency of password change, failed logins to lockouts, and stale accounts.
How to Verify a Link is Safe
Even if you use a secure link shortener, you may sometimes receive links from another source that make you wonder “is this URL safe?”. You can use an online link checker to verify if a link is safe or not. The best link checkers include Norton Safe Web, URLVoid, and Google Transparency Report.
Discover More Features for Link Shorteners
Curious about other URL shortening services apart from security? We have you covered! You can learn all about custom URLs, link tracking, and branded domains in our various articles. For an introduction to link shortening, check out What is a URL Shortener or our guide on how to make a short URL. You can also explore URL shorteners specifically for enterprises or check out the best free options.