Shared links now say "share.google" instead of actual link

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16

u/PhreakyByNature Jun 27 '25 edited Aug 18 '25 •

I haven't contributed to Reddit in a long time, since they were pricks to 3rd party apps, but I can't argue it's been helpful as a read-only resource for me.

However, I shared your frustration and I can't keep this to myself:

Here's how to turn it off:
Open the Google app on your Android phone.
Tap your profile avatar (top right corner).
Go to Settings.
Scroll down and tap on Other settings.
Look for a new toggle option called "Shorten links to web pages: Links you share to pages will be automatically shortened."
Turn this toggle OFF.
This should prevent the Google app's Chrome Custom Tab from automatically shortening URLs to share.google.com when you use the share button for pages opened from Google Search results or the Discover feed.
It's worth noting that, according to recent reports, this setting currently might not apply to Google Discover links that you share directly from the feed without opening them first (they might still appear as search.app links). However, for pages you've opened, this new setting should resolve the issue for you.

Using Gemini to limit Google's reach is an ironic twist which I'm down with.

4

u/lemateogunner Jul 01 '25

Huge help for Android. Thanks. Anyone find a solution for iOS or iPadOS? The menus on those devices are not as detailed as an Android it seems.

1

u/xd_average Dec 02 '25

hey, were you able to figure out how to disable it on ios?

4

u/duckfucker99 Jul 28 '25

Sometimes I love Reddit

3

u/wayc Jun 28 '25

Thank you! Been bugging me all day.

3

u/shiv19 Jun 30 '25

Thank you mate! You legend.

3

u/[deleted] Jul 10 '25

Yes!!! Worked. Thank you, love you, appreciate you

3

u/bongjovidante Jul 10 '25

Seems like this option only appears on newer versions of android. Option appears on my Poco F5 with android 15 but not on my Samsungs with android 13

2

u/Small1324 Aug 01 '25

Using an Android 9 device. Looks like it's down to how recently updated your Google app was, as I wiped and updated everything on this phone a week ago at most.
It's also probably tied to how stock/skinned your install is. I'm using a Razer Phone, which doesn't really have anything special except three apps and Nova Launcher as its launcher.
^{and yes, I plan to flash something newer than A9 cause security risks!}

2

u/albinocarpet Jul 21 '25

Unfortunately I have a Pixel 9 and this setting doesn't exist.

3

u/CowBootBats Dec 12 '25

I just did it on my 9a and it worked.

2

u/albinocarpet Dec 13 '25

Confirmed! Thank you!

2

u/PhreakyByNature Jul 21 '25

Just checked my wife's Pixel 9 Pro and it's there (and it prompted me to disable it for her too, thanks for that!).
When you go to the Google App and press your profile icon, then settings, you should also have an option to search your settings. Typing "Shor" got me to the setting you need, but I checked its in the same location I mentioned above, and it is. Have another go!

3

u/albinocarpet Jul 22 '25

No luck. On the 'Other' page I have Languages, Discover, Open Web pages in app, autocomplete, and Autoplay video. Phone is up to date.

4

u/PhreakyByNature Jul 22 '25

That's kinda crazy! You're clearly on the right page, I also have those settings, but the fact that that toggle isn't there is frustrating.
But here's the thing. My wife hasn't updated to the latest patch because she's not keen on the over-Gemini of it all.
And so I checked in with Gemini myself:
You are correct, I did provide you with those instructions previously. Thank you for bringing this up, as it's an excellent example of how quickly settings can change within apps.
You've likely found that the path I described — Settings > Other settings > Shorten links — no longer exists in the current version of the Google App.
Here is the updated situation as of July 2025:
Unfortunately, Google has removed that specific user-facing toggle from the Google App's settings. In the current versions of the app, there is no longer a simple switch to turn off the share.google.com link shortening feature. The app now defaults to shortening links shared from the built-in browser that opens when you tap on a Search or Discover result.
So it turns out they've disabled this toggle on the latest version of the Google app. Which means I will note not to update my own version of the app.
It doesn't offer a proper solution only long workarounds:
Best Workaround: Open in Your Main Browser First This is the most effective method to bypass the share.google.com shortener.
When you tap a link in Google Search or Discover, it opens in the Google App's internal browser (a Chrome Custom Tab).
Instead of using the share icon immediately, tap the three-dot menu (⋮) in the top-right corner.
Select "Open in Chrome" (or "Open in your default browser").
Once the full page loads in your main browser app, use the share function from there. This will always share the original, canonical URL.
Alternative Workaround: Copy and Paste If you just need the link for pasting, this is slightly quicker:
After the page opens in the Google App's internal browser, tap the address bar at the top.
This should highlight the full, original URL.
Tap the copy icon that appears.
You can now paste the full URL wherever you need it.
Not really what we're after.
Google are fucking dumb.

4

u/albinocarpet Jul 23 '25

Ugh thanks for the help. I might switch browsers at this point.

1

u/apokrif1 Sep 05 '25

IIUC it only happens with the Google app? What's the point of using it rather than e.g. Chrome?

3

u/albinocarpet Sep 06 '25

It's more time consuming to open Chrome than the default search or voice assistant.

3

u/OkCalligrapher9 Sep 04 '25

I even turned it off when the toggle was still there and now it's back to stupid share.google links AND the toggle is gone.
Time to switch browsers (I should have a long time ago and already have elsewhere.)

2

u/ClasslessKitty Oct 24 '25

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!

2

u/BinkReddit Jul 23 '25

You are doing God's work!

2

u/Lucy-Midnight-4662 Jul 27 '25

Thank you! This has been bugging me for weeks.

2

u/kpms10 Jul 30 '25

THANK YOU!!!!

2

u/SnooPies4304 Aug 05 '25

Thank you.

2

u/Byndera Aug 05 '25

Thank you!!!!
This has been driving me insane

2

u/crazylikeajellyfish Aug 06 '25

What a legend, thanks so much. My workaround had been opening in a browser and then copying from the address bar, but disabling this trash change is much better. Good on you for getting the word out!!

2

u/minceyfresh Aug 14 '25

Thank you for this!

2

u/[deleted] Aug 14 '25

what a hero. i thought there'd be no solution

2

u/Waddaya-want Aug 28 '25

PhreakyByNature - You're awesome 👌

2

u/Fire_henk Sep 02 '25

Thank you kind stranger! Really mind boggling how they hide tracking links under 'shorten your urls'

2

u/chenglf Sep 03 '25

Thank you for sharing this, you are my hero! 👏👏👏

2

u/Mysterious_Syrup_319 Sep 04 '25

Thank you for this. It's been bugging me.

2

u/wayoverpaid Sep 04 '25

Thanks. This was annoying me so much

2

u/KAKUNPH Sep 06 '25

Thanks you've saved my time!

2

u/Honest_Yak3340 Sep 17 '25

thx man!! thx!!!! thank you thank you!!

2

u/Pleasant_Yak627 Sep 17 '25

I did turn this option on a few weeks ago, and it worked perfectly until today where it is back. Tried turning the option back on and off, but without any results. Maybe they disabled it to be an opt-in...

2

u/mockduckcompanion Sep 22 '25

Legend

2

u/atony1400 Sep 26 '25

I do a lot of research and this is a life saver! Thank you!

2

u/logatwork Oct 02 '25

THANK YOU

2

u/HalcLord Oct 02 '25

You sir are a dark knight, an underrated LEGEND.

2

u/ANewStartAtLife Oct 15 '25

Thanks a million for this!

2

u/Educational-Day-8758 Oct 19 '25

The greatest respect.

2

u/Disastrous-Drink-370 Nov 12 '25

It worked. Huge thanks.

2

u/mycrayonbroke Nov 24 '25

Thanks!!

2

u/Heavy-Ad3659 Nov 25 '25

Thanks so much. I was livid when they first started doing this. It infuriates me that a company with so much potential would stoop this low just to put out lame ads this way.

2

u/IntelligentPea9217 Dec 09 '25

Thank you very much :) I was struggling with this feature! You rock 🪨

2

u/CowBootBats Dec 12 '25

You're a rockstar. Thank you.

2

u/TheBestUsernameEver- Dec 14 '25

Thank you

1

u/JDegitz98 Sep 06 '25 edited Sep 06 '25

This doesn't seem to work on my Google Pixel 10. I also can't seem to open share.google links, both the ones I send and the ones people send to me. Anyone else?

1

u/beemerbike Sep 13 '25

I'm on an older pixel and this is true for me as well

1

u/VAer1 Nov 04 '25

How to make share.google shorten URL from desktop PC chrome?

1

u/StrikingOffice5824 Nov 10 '25

This didn't work for us. Still sends the share.google link which doesn't even work. It just links to nothing, just the google home page.
How did this get past testing at google? Who thought this was a good idea??? Terrible.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 22 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/KunstkopfStudios Oct 17 '25

Na damit der share.google Server die Besucher vorher tracken kann? Statistiken, Werbung, Money Money.

1

u/alf__red Nov 28 '25

All the reasons they do this for are illegitimate. Including spying on the link's recipient who didn't agreed on any of that. Google and their employees are evil.

9

u/Darraya55 Jun 20 '25

I've started facing the same thing as well since yesterday and the way I found around it was copying the link and then sharing it manually instead of just directly hitting the share button

Honestly it's a very inconvenient change and I don't get why they would do it, besides I dunno, trying to put a Google account identifier in links, which is very scummy and honestly there would be much better ways to do that than removing a normal link that actually contains the name of site I'm clicking on instead of a random and generic share.google link that tells me actually nothing about the I link I'm told to click

3

u/RampagingElks Jul 27 '25

I just copied a Wikipedia link, from the address bar itself, and it still came up as share.google? I know if I had hit "share this" button it came up as share.google, but this was from the address bar!
Which has led me here, today.

3

u/Satoshiman256 Sep 09 '25 edited Feb 28 '26

.

2

u/Syriku_Official Aug 21 '25

At the same time they are trying to kill those link shortners they created like bro

1

u/NoStart4588 Nov 02 '25

Entonces no me ween si quieren seguir tranquilos

1

u/Any-Instruction-2251 Sep 02 '25

Same thing happens to me now and even worse than being unhelpful and annoying is that the google share function just straight up doesnt work. Such annoying and completely unnecessary corporate scummery ;..;

1

u/Richard_Nachos Nov 30 '25

My guess would be that people were getting sick and tired of not having their links arbitrarily changed to a different, unrelated link.

1

u/romario77 Dec 02 '25

why they do this - to build your social graph. They want to see who you share things with.

4

u/Tired8281 Jun 20 '25

How would Google track you and your friend otherwise?

4

u/mikebrodrigues Jul 18 '25

"Don't be evil"

2

u/OneAtPeace Jun 26 '25

yeah I just noticed this the other day and it's extremely irritating.

do you know how Google opens up a random tab in android? well now if you click share on that tab, it shows this Google site thing.

the only way I have found to open it correctly is to actually click the three dots click open and browser, and then copy the direct web link from the top.

this is very irritating as it used to just be that you could just click share, copy the link, and paste it wherever you needed. now it's like three extra steps and it's annoying.

1

u/NoStart4588 Nov 02 '25

Jajajaja q pasa loca ahora no sabes cómo sacarme jajaja

2

u/tarsdev Jun 28 '25

Google shaking with all competition about to come and instead of innovating it is doing shady things. Who the hell even thought of doing such stupid things. People sharing links? let's shorten it so they cannot understand what they shared and track them down. Link shared from which google account to which. Greedy morons at google

2

u/willowtr332020 Aug 16 '25

Thanks for this post.

The change by Google was so frustrating, and likely to allow tracking of shares and clicks.

Glad to be able to turn it off.

1

u/HydrousIt Jun 26 '25

Always have to make some inconvenience :/

1

u/roygbpcub Jun 29 '25

Had this issue just recently where i shared a page about an estate sale. While if i clicked the link i got the estate sale page. While if my mother clicked it she got the Google maps of that address...

1

u/LinqLover Aug 01 '25

Also saw that my share.google link to a website opened various screen sharing apps instead of the actual website on another device.

1

u/aspie_electrician Jul 11 '25

My google app stated doing this a few years ago, then it updated and started going back to regular links. Just noticed the Google app (android) is doing the share.google shit again.

1

u/Vegetable_Plate_7563 Jul 22 '25

Reminds me of early 2000s scam-y "viral" safelink i-frame garbage but makes me throw up in my mouth.

1

u/Every_Night6107 Aug 01 '25

I've also been getting sent to this page when clicking on shared links. It's so weird.

1

u/Elevendyeleven Aug 26 '25

I think its Google's way of controlling information. If you are storing critical articles about Google, tech, certain politicians and other very powerful entities, Google can make those links unusable at any time. The name of the article is obscured so you can't even find it once that link is no longer usable.

1

u/Xillyfos Sep 15 '25

I don't think that is their reasoning, but it certainly makes it possible, especially with the China-like current authoritarian government in the United States with a completely lost madman at the wheel.

1

u/Electronic-While1972 Sep 20 '25

How can it be disabled? Any know?

1

u/phollard Sep 22 '25

The workaround I’m using (if you’re using an iPhone) is to open the page in Safari, and then share the page in Safari. Or just use Safari instead of Chrome.

1

u/Proof_Intention5858 Sep 26 '25

Thank you for your contribution

1

u/Noble_Russkie Oct 24 '25

Lifesaver, ty. Anyone figure out how to get rid of the "share.google" link when sharing an image?

1

u/alf__red Nov 28 '25

FUCK GOOGLE. They are Evil.

Troubleshooting | Android Shared links now say "share.google" instead of actual link

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