Chrome 64 for Android shrinks long URLs when you share them

Chrome 64 for Android, which started rolling out a few weeks ago, automatically shrinks long URLs when you share them. This was discovered by Android Police, while mobile URLs are also converted to their regular form when shared.

Those who frequently share links in WhatsApp may be familiar with this: you post the website link in a chat and its URL takes up the entire screen (or more). Chrome 64’s solution is to abbreviate the URL when sharing using the “Share” option in the browser.

The feature reduces the URL to its smallest size while keeping important information like the website destination—or trackers/referral links, if a website wishes to keep them. Otherwise, these are e dropped when sharing in this way—along with any links to specific subsections of a page.

If you do wish to copy the URL in its entirety, you can still do so by accessing it in the URL bar.

This looks like a worthwhile feature for most of us who don’t want to share links with all of the trash at the end, but it might come as bad news for companies that make use of those trackers. No doubt we’ll hear more about it soon if it causes issues.