How to shorten a link without an account

Sometimes you just need a short link, now, without making another account. Some shorteners still allow it, including ndle. Here's what you get without signing up, what you give up, and when it's worth making a free account instead.

Guest

ndle.fyi/p4w8ze

yoursite.com/page

No sign-up. Lasts 7 days, with no stats and no checks.

Account

ndle.fyi/k3x9qa

yoursite.com/page

Free. Doesn't expire, counts clicks, and is checked every 30 minutes.

Shorten a link in ndle without signing up

1. Go to the ndle home page.
2. Paste your long link into the box and press Shorten.
3. Copy the short link.

That's all. There's no email, no password and no card. Guest links last 7 days, which is plenty for a message, a slide or a quick share.

What you give up without an account

A link made without an account belongs to nobody, so there's nothing to manage it from. Depending on the service, that usually means:

• No stats. You can't see how many people clicked.
• No changes. You can't edit or delete the link later.
• Less time. Guest links on ndle last 7 days. Other services have their own rules, and some can change them.
• Ads, on some services. Bitly closed its no-account shortener, and links made with it now open an ad page first. They can't be claimed or edited; the only way to drop the ad is to recreate the link in a paid account (Bitly Support).

When to make a free account instead

Use a guest link for something short-lived. Make an account when the link has to last:

• it's going on print, a QR code, or anything you can't take back
• it's in a bio, a newsletter or an old post people will find later
• you want to know how many people clicked, and from where

An ndle account is free, and it changes what the link does: it doesn't expire unless you set a date, it counts every click by day, country, device, referrer and UTM campaign, and ndle checks the page behind it every 30 minutes. The free plan keeps up to 100 active links, with one custom domain and unlimited QR codes.