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How to shorten a Google Drive link

Google Drive doesn't shorten links, and Google's goo.gl shortener stopped making new links in 2018. Copy the file's share link and point your own short link at it, or turn the long link into a QR code if people will scan rather than type it.

Short linksUpdated 3 min read

Copy the right Drive link first

A short link only passes people on, so the Drive link behind it has to let them in. In Drive:

  1. Select the file or folder and click Share, or open it and click Share at the top right.
  2. Under General access, choose who can open it. Anyone with the link lets people in without a Google account. Work and school accounts may not allow this; your organisation decides.
  3. Pick Viewer, Commenter or Editor. Viewer is right for most handouts.
  4. Click Copy link.

Test the link in a private browser window before you shorten it. If it asks you to sign in or request access, so will the short link.

Make the short link

With a Liite short link, paste the Drive link as the destination and choose an alias, such as liite.co/x/handout. A few things this gives you that the Drive link can't:

  • Something people can type from a slide, a whiteboard or a printed page.
  • A new destination later. Replace the file and point the same short link at the new one. Every copy you've handed out still works.
  • A start and end time. Open a worksheet from Monday, and close it after the deadline.
  • Click counts by day and device, without cookies.

Free accounts have 10 short links, each with a QR code.

Google Forms has its own short link

Forms is the exception. Once a form is published, click Share, then Copy responder link, and tick Shorten URL before you click Copy. Google's help page describes this in the form-sharing steps.

Print a QR code instead

If people will scan your link rather than type it, its length doesn't matter much. The tool below turns the Drive link into a QR code: paste your link over the sample and download it. A very long link makes a denser code, so print it bigger, or shorten the link first for a simpler code.

QR code generator

Open the full tool

A plain QR code holds the Drive link itself. If you later replace the file with a new one, the printed code still opens the old file. Make the code from a short link instead if you might change it.

What happened to Google's URL shortener

Google announced the end of goo.gl in 2018 and stopped accepting new links. In July 2024 it said all goo.gl links would stop working in August 2025. In August 2025 it changed course: only links that had shown no activity in late 2024 were switched off, and links that still worked kept working. Links made by Google apps, such as Maps sharing, also carry on.

So you can't make a new goo.gl link, and any site claiming to be "Google's" link shortener today isn't Google.

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Questions

How do I shorten a URL link in Google Drive?

Drive can't do it for you. Copy the file's share link, then point a short link at it, such as liite.co/x/handout. If people will scan rather than type it, a QR code of the long link works just as well.

Does Google still have a link shortener?

Not for public use. Google stopped making new goo.gl links in 2018. Links made inside Google apps, such as Maps sharing, still work, and Google Forms can still shorten its own form links.

Can I make a URL link shortener?

You can, but you then have to keep it running for as long as anyone uses the links. For a handful of links, a hosted short link service is less work.

How can I shorten a Google link?

For a form, use Shorten URL in Forms. For a place, use Share in Google Maps. For Drive files, Docs, Sheets and Slides, use your own short link.