The link shortener that respects the people clicking your links
Know who clicked — not just how many.
ShortLynx is a privacy-first URL shortener with per-recipient click attribution — the only one that tells you which contact clicked, without a CRM. Let us run it, or self-host it free.
Private beta · No credit card · Self-host free, today
Live activity
Clicks appear as they land
/spring-launchUS · Mobile · Safarijust now/a1b2c3DE · Desktop · Chrome4 seconds ago/webinarGB · Mobile · Chrome11 seconds ago/a1b2c3JP · Tablet · Safari26 seconds ago
Per-recipient attribution, without a CRM
Most shorteners tell you a link got 400 clicks. ShortLynx can tell you which recipient clicked — mint a unique code per person, so email and sales tracking work without a login at click time. The closest tools that do this are CRM-locked enterprise suites. ShortLynx does it self-hosted, for free.
Built to respect the clicker
Privacy isn't a bolt-on here — it's the design.
IPs are never stored raw
Every IP is HMAC-hashed with a secret server key, with the current hour folded in — so the same visitor hashes to a different value each hour. The raw address never touches disk.
DNT & GPC honored
Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control are respected: the click still counts, every dimension is dropped.
k-anonymity (k=10)
Any breakdown value seen fewer than 10 times folds into “Other” — in the dashboard, the API, and exports.
No sub-country geography
Country and timezone only. Never region, city, or coordinates — that's fingerprinting in low-traffic contexts.
Aggregate-only exports
Never a row-per-click list that could deanonymize a small campaign. Exports mirror the dashboard.
Enforced disclosure
Send tracked links without a privacy policy and recipients see a disclosure screen — and can opt out.
Everything you'd expect — and the things you wouldn't
Live click updates
Clicks appear on the dashboard as they land — a streaming feed, not a number you refresh and hope changed.
Per-recipient attribution
Mint a unique code per contact so you can see exactly who clicked — no CRM, no login at click time.
Custom vanity codes
Choose your own memorable short code instead of a random one.
Custom domains
Bring your own domain, DNS-verified, with per-link domain pinning.
Campaigns & UTM
Group links for roll-up reporting with a shared UTM template applied at redirect time.
Social publishing
Post a link to Bluesky, Mastodon, Threads, or Reddit with exact per-post click attribution.
QR codes
Generate a PNG or SVG QR code for any link or recipient code.
Full REST API
Scoped API keys for automation — create links, provision codes, pull analytics.
Self-hostable
Source-available under ELv2. Run the whole product on your own infrastructure, free.
Simple, usage-based pricing
Hosted plans are in private beta. Self-host any tier for free, forever.
Starter
$9 /mo
- · 500 links
- · 100k redirects/mo
- · 1-year retention
- · 1 custom domain
- · 10 custom codes
Pro
$24 /mo
- · 5,000 links
- · 1M redirects/mo
- · Unlimited retention
- · 5 custom domains
- · Per-recipient attribution
Teams
$79 /mo
- · 25,000 links
- · 10M redirects/mo
- · Unlimited retention
- · 15 custom domains
- · Team seats & roles
Per-recipient attribution is a Pro+ capability. Overages are billed per use rather than cutting your links off. Prices in USD.
ShortLynx vs. Bitly & TinyURL
| ShortLynx | Bitly | TinyURL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per-recipient click attribution | Yes | No | No |
| Live click updates | Yes | No | No |
| Privacy-first (hashed IPs, DNT/GPC) | Yes | No | Limited |
| Self-hostable / open source | Yes (ELv2) | No | No |
| Custom domains | Yes | Paid | Paid |
| Custom vanity codes | Yes | Paid | Yes |
| Free tier | Generous | Limited | Yes |
Frequently asked questions
Is ShortLynx a Bitly or TinyURL alternative?
Yes. ShortLynx does everything you'd expect from a URL shortener — custom domains, branded/vanity links, QR codes, click analytics — plus per-recipient attribution and a privacy-first design neither Bitly nor TinyURL offers, and you can self-host it for free.
What is per-recipient attribution?
A unique short code minted per contact per destination. When someone clicks, you see that specific recipient clicked — ideal for email and sales outreach — without requiring them to log in and without a CRM.
How is ShortLynx privacy-first?
IP addresses are never stored raw — each is HMAC-hashed with a secret server-side key, with the current hour folded in so the same visitor hashes differently each hour. Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control are honored, breakdowns use k-anonymity, no sub-country geography is stored, and exports are aggregate-only.
How do live updates work?
The dashboard holds a streaming connection to the API and clicks appear within a couple of seconds of landing. It reconnects on its own and backfills anything that happened while you were disconnected, so the numbers stay right even across a dropped connection.
Can I self-host instead?
Yes — it's source-available under the Elastic License 2.0. Self-hosting is free and unrestricted at every tier, on your own infrastructure and database. Nothing about the hosted service locks you in.
What happens if I exceed my plan?
Redirects and links are metered, and overage is billed per use rather than cutting your links off. A link that stops resolving is worse for you than a small invoice.
Start tracking who clicks
Hosted ShortLynx is in private beta. Request access, or self-host the full product today.