For the individual user, there probably isn't. For companies, marketers, etc, bitly, and other url shortners provide data and analytics ontop of the links, all

For the individual user, there probably isn't. For companies, marketers, etc, bitly, and other url shortners provide data and analytics ontop of the links, allowing more insight into link shares & clicks. When you're interested in tracking the data from a link, or series of links, having a persistent account is necessary.