Universal Shortened URL Expander

WHAT IT DOES

This script scans any webpage for shortened URLs from over 40 popular shortening services (bit.ly, tinyurl, goo.gl, ow.ly, buff.ly, t.co, lnkd.in, amzn.to, and many more). It expands each shortened URL to its full destination using HEAD requests that follow redirects without actually loading the destination page—preserving your privacy and saving bandwidth. The panel shows every detected shortened URL alongside its expanded destination, domain safety status (Safe/Suspicious/Unknown), and a click-to-copy button for each expanded URL. Hover over any shortened link on the page to see a badge showing the destination domain and safety status. Expand individual URLs manually by pasting them into the panel, export all expanded URLs as a text report, and clear the expansion cache at any time.

WHERE IT RUNS

Works on any webpage—social media feeds, emails, forums, news sites, or any page containing shortened links. The script scans both link elements (anchor tags) and plain text content, ensuring it catches shortened URLs wherever they appear.

HOW TO USE

The panel appears automatically when you visit a page. Shortened URLs are detected and displayed with their safety status color-coded (green = safe, yellow = suspicious/known shortener, gray = unknown). If auto-expand is enabled (default), the script expands all detected URLs automatically when the page loads, showing the full destination URL alongside the shortened one. Click the 📋 button next to any expanded URL to copy it to your clipboard. Hover over any shortened link on the page itself to see a floating badge showing the destination domain and safety status. Paste a shortened URL into the manual input field and click "Expand" to expand individual URLs. Toggle auto-expand on/off using the switch in the controls section. Export all expanded URLs as a formatted text report. Use "Rescan Page" to re-detect URLs after dynamic content loads. Clear the cache to force fresh expansion requests.

TECHNICAL MECHANISM: REDIRECT FOLLOWING WITH DOMAIN SAFETY CLASSIFICATION

The script scans the DOM using a two-pass approach. First, it iterates through all anchor tags (a[href]) and checks the href attribute against a list of over 40 shortened URL domains using URL parsing. Second, it uses a TreeWalker to scan all visible text nodes, applying a regex pattern to find shortened URLs embedded in plain text—catching URLs that aren't wrapped in link elements. For expansion, it uses GM_xmlhttpRequest with method HEAD, followRedirect: true, and a 10-second timeout. HEAD requests are used instead of GET to avoid loading page assets while still capturing the final URL via the response's finalUrl property. Each expanded URL is cached using the shortened URL as the key, with the cache limited to 500 entries to prevent storage bloat. Domain safety is determined by checking the expanded domain against a curated list of safe domains (Google, YouTube, GitHub, LinkedIn, etc.) and suspicious shortener domains. The hover badge is implemented using mouseenter/mouseleave events that create a positioned element relative to the link, with dynamic positioning to prevent overflow off-screen. The cache persists across page loads via GM_setValue, and manual expansion bypasses the cache to force a fresh lookup.

THE PANEL

The URL expander appears in a draggable, resizable panel that remembers its position per site. The panel lists detected shortened URLs with their expanded destinations and color-coded safety status. Drag by the header to reposition, collapse to a compact icon with a click, and resize using the bottom-right corner. The panel snaps to screen edges for tidy placement and closes with the Escape key. All settings—auto-expand toggle, hover badge toggle, and panel position—persist per website using GM_setValue, so your view returns exactly as you left it.

PLEASE NOTE

This script requires the free BotGentz extension to run. URL expansion is performed via HEAD requests that follow redirects—this means the script does not load the full destination page, preserving your privacy and avoiding tracking pixels. However, some URL shorteners may require a GET request to resolve correctly; if a URL fails to expand, the original URL is retained. The safety classification is based on a static list of known safe domains and shortener services—always exercise caution when visiting unfamiliar domains. The cache stores expanded URLs locally in your browser; it can be cleared at any time. Websites with dynamically loaded content may require using the "Rescan Page" button to detect new shortened URLs.