Short links.
Strong opinions about the web.
A URL shortener that respects your readers, a QR generator that runs in your browser, and a blog about the unglamorous parts of building for the web. No tracking pixels. No intimidating customer logos.
What this site isn't.
A short, honest list.
Not a Bitly clone
A URL shortener does not need 600,000 customer logos and an enterprise sales team. We are smaller on purpose.
Not VC-funded
No growth metrics to hit, no investor logos to chase.
Not "AI-powered"
Shortening a URL is a database lookup. It does not need a chatbot.
Not free-with-an-asterisk
The free tier covers what most people need. Paid tiers, when they exist, will be honest.
From the journal
Recent writing.
- № 01 · Jun 30
WhatsApp Usernames Go Live: Meta Finally Steps Away From the Phone Number
WhatsApp introduces global username reservations, closing a long-standing privacy gap. Here is how the rolling rollout affects personal privacy and business integrations.
privacyapps - № 02 · Jun 23
Five Eyes Now Measures the AI Cyber Threat in Months, and the Ivanti Scramble Shows Why
Five Eyes agencies warn AI is shrinking exploit windows to hours. The Ivanti CVE-2026-10520 case shows this is already happening, not a future scenario.
cybersecurityai - № 03 · Apr 22
How URL shorteners actually work
A short URL is a database row, an HTTP redirect, and a series of decisions you don't usually see. Here is what happens when you click bit.ly/anything.
urlsweb - № 04 · Apr 8
QR code error correction, explained
Why a QR code with a logo in the middle still scans, why some codes survive coffee stains and others don't, and how to pick the right error correction level for your use case.
qr-codesencoding