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Show HN: Trails – a transparent, privacy-first URL shortener API
Hi HN,
I built Trails, a transparent URL shortener with a simple public API.
Unlike most URL shorteners, Trails:
- does not store IPs - visits are counted using a SHA-256 hash, so they can’t be linked back to users
- Lets you “peek” at a short link before clicking, so you know where it goes
- Has no accounts, paywalls, or tracking — just a free API
You can find examples on the GitHub page, and also it has a public website that uses this service: https://trls.link/ https://trls.link/
API repo: https://github.com/anwitars/tiny-trails https://github.com/anwitars/tiny-trails
Web client repo: https://github.com/anwitars/trails-web https://github.com/anwitars/trails-web
I would love feedback on design decisions, and the roadmap included in the API's readme, especially the dynamic Trails idea.
- TimLeland 1y agoLooks neat — just a heads up, be prepared for malicious users to find the service and immediately start using it for harmful redirects. I ran into this pretty early on when I launched T.LY, so it’s something worth thinking about from the start. I ended up building an entire service to detect these URLs as soon as possible, protecting the service. Happy to give you some tips, just reach out.
- anwitars 1y agoI appreciate your feedback, and I completely agree with you that malicious users would immediately start to exploit it. Although I remain confident (for now), that the service's peek/info features help protecting innocent users from such activities. If it fails to deliver that safety, I will definitely implement something that you mentioned. I would always love to hear feedback, so you should just reach out as well if you have anything in mind.