Email: link-unshortener@underpassapp.com

Slack: Join the support Slack

Reddit: r/StopTheMadnessSupport

Mastodon: @lapcatsoftware@appdot.net

Blog: Company News

Updates RSS: https://underpassapp.com/updates.rss

Privacy: Link Unshortener Privacy Policy

Test: You can test Link Unshortener with https://bit.ly/2K8UI2I, which has several redirects.

Help Topics:

• System Requirements
• Refunds
• How to enable the share extension
• How to enable the system service
• How to set Link Unshortener as your default web browser
• General Preferences
• Hide Browsers Preferences
• Exclusions Preferences
• Redirects Preferences
• Web Rules Preferences
• Keyboard shortcuts
• How to use Link Unshortener with StopTheMadness

System Requirements:
Link Unshortener is compatible with macOS 13 Ventura, 12 Monterey, and 11 Big Sur.

Refunds:
Apple can grant refunds for App Store purchases on request. App Store developers do not have the power to grant refunds, only Apple has that power. For instructions on how to request a refund, please see Apple's support article Request a refund for an App Store or iTunes Store purchase.

How to enable the share extension:
The share extension included in Link Unshortener can be enabled by the following steps. Alternatively, every Share menu has a "More…" item at the end that performs steps 1 - 3.

1. Open System Preferences.
2. Select the Extensions pane.
3. Select the Share Menu.
4. Check the box next to Link Unshortener.

How to enable the system service:
The system service included in Link Unshortener can be enabled by the following steps. Alternatively, the Services menu in the main menu bar has a "Services Preferences…" item at the end that performs steps 1 - 4.

1. Open System Preferences.
2. Select the Keyboard pane.
3. Select the Shortcuts tab.
4. Select Services.
5. Scroll down to the Internet section.
6. Check the box next to Link Unshortener.

How to set Link Unshortener as your default web browser:
Link Unshortener can be set as your default web browser on macOS. Open the System Preferences app to the General pane, and select Link Unshortener in the Default web browser popup.

If you set Link Unshortener as your Default web browser, then you need to select a specific app, such as Safari, to "Open URL with" in Link Unshortener General Preferences. It's also best for overall compatibility to switch your "Trim URL queries" preference from "All" to "Known Trackers", because many URLs rely on the query to identify the appropriate page to load.

General Preferences:

1. Trim URL queries
   By default, this preference is set to Known Trackers, which automatically removes known tracking parameters such as utm_source, fbclid, and gclid from query strings while still preserving other URL query parameters that are sometimes necessary to load the correct web page. If you set Trim URL queries to All, then Link Unshortener automatically removes all query strings from URLs, which can give more privacy but can also break some links. You can disable Trim URL queries entirely by selecting None.
2. Replace http with https in URLs
   By default, this preference is enabled. When enabled, Link Unshortener automatically replaces http:// with https:// in all URLs, for security and privacy.
3. Remove text fragments in URLs
   By default, this preference is enabled. When enabled, Link Unshortener automatically removes #:~:text= text fragments in all URLs.
4. Copy the unshortened URL to the clipboard
   By default, this preference is disabled. When enabled, Link Unshortener automatically copies the selected URL in the Unshorten Results to the clipboard after you unshorten a link.
5. Open the unshortened URL
   By default, this preference is disabled. When enabled, Link Unshortener automatically opens the selected URL in the Unshorten Results with your selected web browser after you unshorten a link.
6. Open URL with
   This popup allows you to select the app that Link Unshortener uses to open URLs. You can select a specific app, such as Safari, or you can select "Default app for URL" to let the system decide which app to use. You can always override this preference by selecting a different app to "Open URL with" in a Link Unshortener results window.
7. Open URL in the background
   By default, this preference is disabled. When enabled, Link Unshortener keeps your selected web browser in the background when you open a URL from the results. You can temporarily switch this preference by pressing the shift key when you open a URL. (The option key is not used for this because Firefox opens in a special troubleshooting mode when the option key is pressed.)
8. Close the window after opening a URL
   By default, this preference is enabled. When enabled, Link Unshortener automatically closes the window after you open a URL from the results. If there are no open windows remaining, then Link Unshortener will automatically quit too.

When you open a new Link Unshortener window, "Trim URL queries", "Replace http with https", and "Open URL with" will match your Link Unshortener Preferences, but you can temporarily override those at any time in a Link Unshortener window.

Hide Browsers Preferences:

In the Hide Browsers Preferences, you can hide specific web browsers from the "Open URL with" list in Link Unshortener windows. This allows you to control which browsers appear in the list.

You can select a web browser to "Open URL with" in General Preferences even if you hide that same browser in Hide Browsers Preferences. If you open a link from the Unshorten Results, and there's no browser selected in the Link Unshortener window, then the link will open with your preferred browser from General Preferences.

Exclusions Preferences:

In the Exclusions Preferences, you can add URLs to exclude from unshortening. Excluded URLs will not have their URL queries trimmed, will not be upgraded from http to https, and will not be checked for redirects.

You can specify a URL with or without a /path. Paths and subpaths will always be automatically matched. (There are no wildcard characters.)

Redirects Preferences:

In Redirects Preferences, you can create custom rules to make Link Unshortener automatically redirect a URL to a different URL of your choosing. For example, you can redirect new Reddit to old Reddit if you prefer the old user interface. Or you can use privacy-preserving alternatives to popular web sites such as Nitter for Twitter and Invidious for YouTube.

Link Unshortener shares these rules with the StopTheMadness Safari extension, if you have it installed. However, Link Unshortener can still create and use Redirects even if you don't have StopTheMadness. If you do have StopTheMadness, but you don't want Link Unshortener to follow its Redirects, you can uncheck "Enable Redirects in Link Unshortener."

Technical details about URL matching patterns and replacements can be found in the StopTheMadness documentation.

Web Rules Preferences:

In Web Rules Preferences, you can create custom rules to make Link Unshortener automatically open a URL in a web browser of your choosing. For example, you can open Google Docs links in Google Chrome instead of Safari.

Link Unshortener shares these rules with the StopTheMadness Safari extension, if you have it installed. However, Link Unshortener can still create and use Web Rules even if you don't have StopTheMadness. If you do have StopTheMadness, but you don't want Link Unshortener to follow its Web Rules, you can uncheck "Enable Web Rules in Link Unshortener."

Technical details about this feature can be found in the StopTheMadness documentation.

Keyboard shortcuts:
You can find many keyboard shortcuts listed in the main menu of Link Unshortener. Below are some convenient keyboard shortcuts not listed in the main menu.

1. When the link editing field is focused, press the return key to unshorten the link.
2. When one or more URLs are selected in the results, press the return key to open the URL(s) in your selected web browser.
3. When opening a URL from the results, press the shift key to temporarily switch your "Open URL in the background" preference.

How to use Link Unshortener with StopTheMadness:
(Watch the video tutorial on YouTube.)

StopTheMadness allows you to create Web URL Rules that automatically send clicked links from Safari to other apps. Link Unshortener automatically reads and follows the Web URL Rules created in StopTheMadness! If you set Link Unshortener as your default web browser in the General pane of System Preferences, then links clicked in Mail app, for example, will be sent to Link Unshortener, which will then follow your StopTheMadness Web URL Rules. So you could create a rule to send all https://docs.google.com/ links to Google Chrome instead of Safari.

StopTheMadness also allows you to create Redirects that automatically redirect URLs so that when you open a link to one web site, your web browser loads a different site of your choosing. Link Unshortener automatically reads and follows the Redirects created in StopTheMadness too!

StopTheMadness can also add an "Open Link with" item to Safari's contextual menu. In StopTheMadness, you can set Link Unshortener as the app to open links with. See StopTheMadness support for more details.