ClearURLs

[Skhilled]

Removes tracking elements from URLs

Have you noticed how long some URLs are? It is because of tracking and referrals. They can tell what site you came from. For instance, if you click a link on one site and it sends you to another, you'll see a lot of extra things in the URL.

Personally, I've been copying URLs, pasting them in a new tab, and remove the extra bits before hitting Enter to load the site. You can see what I mean in the 2 following examples.  Please note that these are not valid links:

https://example.com?utm_source=newsletter1&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=sale

https://www.amazon.com/dp/exampleProduct/ref=sxin_0_pb?__mk_de_DE=ÅMÅŽÕÑ&keywords=tea&pd_rd_i=exampleProduct&pd_rd_r=8d39e4cd-1e4f-43db-b6e7-72e969a84aa5&pd_rd_w=1pcKM&pd_rd_wg=hYrNl&pf_rd_p=50bbfd25-5ef7-41a2-68d6-74d854b30e30&pf_rd_r=0GMWD0YYKA7XFGX55ADP&qid=1517757263&rnid=2914120011

In the first link, I only copy up to the question mark because the rest is not needed. It would be: https://example.com

In the second link, I would copy up to the forward slash right before "ref" because the rest is not needed. It would then be: https://www.amazon.com/dp/exampleProduct/

ClearURLs does it for you. To see it in action, install the extension. Then go to Amazon and click on any product. Right after you click the link, watch the URL closely. You'll see it quickly change one or more times while it removes the extra unneeded code. It's great for copying and pasting URLs elsewhere.