Guide · Creating links
Shorten a link without signing up: what is kept instead
No account does not mean no memory. This guide explains what the service keeps so that a free link can still be upgraded later, and why it keeps so little.
Nothing to register
Pasting a link and receiving a short one needs no account, no e-mail address and no password. The service asks for the destination and, if wanted, an alias. Everything else is optional.
A principle of data-protection law points the same way: GDPR Article 5(1)(c) calls for personal data that is adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary for the purposes of processing. A shortener does not need to know who made a link in order to make it work.
What is kept instead
- A creator token, shown once when a free link is made. It proves the link is yours, which is what an upgrade to premium needs.
- A pack key, shown once when a premium pack is bought and stored only as a keyed hash. It pays for premium links and renewals: each link or renewal uses one credit.
- The usual technical record of a visit, kept in a log only the operator can read, with a retention setting: the address, the browser identifier, the site the visitor came from and the time.
Both the token and the key are shown once. Copy them when they appear and keep them where other secrets are kept, next to the link they belong to.
If one is lost
A lost creator token means a free link cannot be upgraded; make a new link instead. A lost pack key means its unused credits can no longer be spent, and payments are final: there are no refunds.
The sensible habit is to treat a key like cash: note how many credits it holds, store it with other secrets, and spend it on the links that matter.
Questions
Does the service need an e-mail address to make a link?
No. A link is made with a destination and, optionally, an alias.
How can a free link be upgraded without an account?
With the creator token shown when the link was made. It proves the link belongs to the person holding it.
Can a lost pack key be recovered?
No. It is shown once and stored only as a keyed hash, so it cannot be shown again.
Sources
The documents this guide's statements rest on. Each link opens in a new page.