Frequently asked questions
What anon.to is, what it keeps, and how its links work.
What is anon.to?
anon.to is a free, privacy-first URL shortener and anonymous redirect service. It hides where your visitors came from and keeps no record of who opened what.
Is it free?
Yes. anon.to is free to use.
Do I need an account?
No. Paste any address on the home page to get a short link. With an account you can list your links, remove them and get a QR code for each.
What does anon.to log, and does it log my IP address?
anon.to keeps no record of a single redirect: not the destination, the time, the referrer, the IP address or the browser. No access logs are kept.
The only things stored are the links themselves, optional accounts, abuse reports, rate-limit counters keyed by a hashed IP address, or by account for a signed-in user, that expire within an hour, and a session for visitors of the site's own pages, for forms and sign-in, that holds no IP address or browser details. Privacy lists them in full.
What is the referrer and how does anon.to hide it?
The referrer is the address of the page a visitor came from, which a site can read when the visitor arrives. A link opened through anon.to arrives at its destination with no HTTP referrer, so the destination site cannot see which page or site sent the visitor.
What is the redirect page and why is it there?
Opening a short link shows the redirect page first, with the full destination, so you always know where a link leads before you get there.
- Trusted domains continue on their own after a second.
- Unknown domains wait for you to press Continue.
- Blocked domains show the address as text, with no way through.
How do I check where an anon.to link goes before I open it?
Opening an anon.to link shows the redirect page before anything else, with the full destination on it. For an unknown domain nothing happens until you press Continue, and a blocked domain is shown as text with no way through, so any anon.to link can be checked safely.
What is a direct redirect?
Put https://anon.to/? in front of any address to send it through anon.to without shortening it first. Nothing about a direct redirect is stored. A site can send every outbound link this way; Integrate shows how.
How long do short links last?
Links stay until their owner or an admin removes them.
Does opening a link set a cookie?
No. Opening a link sets no cookie and starts no session.
Why do some security tools flag redirect services, and what does anon.to do about abuse?
Redirect services can be misused to hide a harmful destination, which is why some security tools flag them. anon.to answers this in three ways:
- The redirect page shows the destination before you continue, so any anon.to link can be checked safely.
- Links to malware, phishing or spam are removed, and harmful domains are blocked.
- Anyone can report a link.
How do I report a link?
Anyone can report a link on the report page: give the short link and say what is wrong with it. An email address is optional. Links to malware, phishing or spam are removed.