Bitly
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Internet technology |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Headquarters | New York City , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | URL shortening, link management, analytics, QR codes |
| Owner | Spectrum Equity (controlling interest since 2017) |
| Website | bitly |
Bitly is a link management platform and URL shortening service established in 2008, with its headquarters located in New York City. This privately owned enterprise processes approximately 600 million shortened URLs each month, which are utilized across social media platforms, SMS messaging, and email communications. Bitly monetizes its service by offering access to aggregated insights gathered from these shortened links.
In 2017, Spectrum Equity acquired a controlling interest in Bitly for $64 million. Since November 2023, the creation of short URLs mandates user registration.
Products
Bitly initially became widely recognized as Twitter's default URL shortening provider beginning May 6, 2009, until Twitter replaced it with their proprietary t.co service.
Additionally, the company introduced a specialized video tracking service aimed at monitoring trending online videos.
The primary subscription product, Bitly Enterprise, offers enhanced branding features, audience analytics, multi-channel campaign tracking, personalized QR codes, and supports custom domain integration. This service enables clients such as The New York Times (nyti.ms) and Pepsi (pep.si) to strengthen brand recognition while utilizing Bitly’s comprehensive link management and analytics tools. Bitly Enterprise delivers detailed marketing analytics and social media insights to support campaign optimization.
Technology
Bitly employs HTTP 301 permanent redirects for its shortened links, ensuring that once created, these shortcuts remain fixed and immutable. The URLs commonly use the bit.ly domain or other generic domains provided by the platform.
Since October 12, 2010, users have had the ability to automatically generate QR codes that link directly to their shortened URLs. On May 29, 2012, Bitly rolled out "Bitmarks," which enhanced search capabilities, introduced public profiles, and launched an iPhone application.
In 2025, Bitly revised its free plan so that shortened links now lead to an intermediate advertisement page instead of a direct redirect, altering both user experience and the company's revenue approach.
Preview short URLs
To view the target destination of a Bitly link before visiting it, users can add a plus sign "+" at the end of the URL (e.g., https://bit.ly/1sNZMwL+). This functionality enables verification of the original URL prior to clicking.
Alternative domains
The .ly extension is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) assigned to Libya. In 2011, redirection from bit.ly was transitioned to bitly.com. The Libyan authorities oversee the .ly domain and have previously revoked domains that violate national regulations.
Subscribers with paid accounts may register custom domains that point to Bitly’s servers through DNS record configuration. Former alternative domains such as bitly.com and j.mp (the ccTLD for Northern Mariana Islands) are no longer offered.