A small service with a narrow job
Shortner started in 2024 as an internal tool — a simple redirect server built because the big shorteners kept doing things we didn't like: interstitial ad pages, aggressive tracking, links dying when companies pivoted. We wanted short links that behaved like good infrastructure: fast, predictable, and quiet.
Eventually the tool became a service, and the service got a name and this domain. Today Shortner powers short links for a small set of newsletters, publishers, and brands, onboarded invite-only so we can stay on top of quality and abuse review.
What we believe
- The click is sacred. Nothing stands between a reader and the destination — no ads, no countdowns, no bait-and-switch. A redirect should be invisible.
- Links are a long-term promise. A short link printed on packaging or embedded in an old post should still work years later. We design for durability, not churn.
- Measurement without surveillance. Link owners deserve to know how their links perform. The people clicking deserve not to be profiled. Our Privacy Policy spells out exactly where that line sits.
- Abuse handling is the job, not an afterthought. A shortener that ignores abuse reports becomes a liability for everyone whose links share the domain. Ours get reviewed, and violating links get disabled.
Why "invite-only"?
Open-signup shorteners attract spam at industrial scale, and the whole domain's reputation suffers for it — links get flagged by mail providers and messaging apps, and legitimate users pay the price. Growing deliberately keeps the domain clean, which is the single most valuable thing a shortener can offer its customers.
Want to work with us, or just have a question? Get in touch.