Private and open-source alternatives to TinyURL

4 URL shorteners rated against the same public privacy criteria as TinyURL, with our picks first.

What is the best private alternative to TinyURL?

Shlink has the highest score among these alternatives: 80 out of 100 (grade B).

Open source: no. Closed source.
No trackers or telemetry: no. The website loads ad network scripts, and the privacy policy describes third-party analytics such as Google Analytics.
No ads or data sales: no. The free service shows ads, and the privacy policy lists ad networks among the recipients of personal information.
Independent audit: no. No independent audit is published.
Transparency report: no. No transparency report or government request policy is published.
Tells users about requests: no. No published policy on notifying users about data requests.
Security headers: partial. Grade B (70/100+)
Modern web standards: partial. Score 71%

Shlink Grade B

Self-hosted URL shortener with a REST API, command line tools, custom domains, QR codes and visit tracking. Managed through a separate web client or the API.

Shlink scores 80 out of 100 (grade B) on the URL shorteners criteria. It meets 3 of 4 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry and no ads or data sales.
YOURLS Grade C

Self-hosted PHP URL shortener with a plugin system, an API, bookmarklets and click statistics for your own short domain.

YOURLS scores 65 out of 100 (grade C) on the URL shorteners criteria. It meets 2 of 4 criteria: open source and no ads or data sales.
Dub Grade D

Open source link management platform for short links, QR codes, conversion tracking and affiliate programs. Available as a hosted service or for self-hosting.

Based in the United States (Five Eyes). Dub scores 59 out of 100 (grade D) on the URL shorteners criteria. It meets 3 of 9 criteria: open source, no ads or data sales and TLS configuration.
Kutt Grade D

Open source URL shortener with custom domains, password-protected and expiring links, and link statistics. Can be self-hosted, and the developers run a hosted instance at kutt.to.

Kutt scores 56 out of 100 (grade D) on the URL shorteners criteria. It meets 3 of 9 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry and no ads or data sales.