Privacy Policy

Last updated: June 14, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how shortlink.pk ("we", "our", "us") collects, uses, and shares information when you visit our website and use our URL shortening, analytics, and QR code services. By using shortlink.pk you agree to the practices described below.

1. Information we collect

We collect the following categories of information:

  • Information you provide: the long URLs you submit, optional custom short names, and—if you sign up—your email address, password (stored as a Firebase Authentication credential), and display name.
  • Usage data: click counts on your short links, referrer host (when available), basic device/browser type, country-level geolocation derived from IP, and timestamps. This data is used to operate the service and provide your link analytics.
  • Cookies and similar technologies: see Section 4 below.

2. How we use your information

We use the information we collect to:

  • Provide the URL shortening, redirect, QR code, and analytics functionality.
  • Associate short links with your account, enforce plan limits, and prevent abuse.
  • Improve, debug, and secure the service.
  • Communicate account, security, and service notices.
  • Display advertising (see Section 5 below).

3. Legal basis

Where applicable (for example for visitors in the EEA or UK), we rely on the following legal bases for processing personal data: your consent (for advertising and non-essential cookies), the performance of a contract (delivering the service you signed up for), and our legitimate interests (security, abuse prevention, and service improvement).

4. Cookies and similar technologies

We use cookies and similar storage (such as localStorage) to keep you signed in, remember language and consent preferences, measure traffic, and—when you accept—to serve advertising. You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect parts of the service.

5. Advertising and Google AdSense

shortlink.pk uses Google AdSense, a third-party advertising service provided by Google LLC, to display advertisements on parts of our site (such as content pages and the blog). The following disclosures apply:

  • Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to our website or other websites.
  • Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visits to shortlink.pk and/or other sites on the Internet.
  • Google may use the DoubleClick DART cookie and similar technologies to personalise the ads you see. More information is available in Google's advertising policies at policies.google.com/technologies/ads.
  • You may opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings, aboutads.info/choices, or youronlinechoices.eu.
  • For visitors in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland, we and our advertising partners only serve personalised ads after you provide consent through our cookie banner. You can withdraw consent at any time by clearing your browser storage and reloading the page.
  • Important: ads are not shown on the short-link redirect path itself (e.g. shortlink.pk/abc12). Redirects happen quickly and without ads, in line with Google AdSense program policies.

6. Third parties and processors

We rely on the following processors and third-party services to operate shortlink.pk:

  • Google Firebase (Authentication, Firestore database) — account, link, and analytics storage.
  • Google AdSense — advertising on content pages.
  • Hosting provider — serves the site and stores server-side logs.
  • CDN providers (e.g. Google Fonts, jsDelivr, Cloudflare) — deliver static assets such as fonts and JavaScript libraries.

These parties have their own privacy policies and process data on our behalf or on their own behalf as described in their policies. We do not sell your personal information.

7. Data retention and security

We retain account data and short links for as long as your account is active, and usage logs for as long as needed to operate the service or as required by law. We use industry-standard measures to protect your data; no system is completely secure.

8. International transfers

Our processors (notably Google Firebase and Google AdSense) may store and process data outside Pakistan, including in the United States and the European Union. By using shortlink.pk you acknowledge these transfers.

9. Children's privacy

shortlink.pk is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

10. Your rights

You may request access, correction, export, or deletion of your personal data, and you may object to or restrict certain processing where applicable. To exercise these rights, please email hello@shortlink.pk or use the Contact page.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the updated policy on this page and update the "Last updated" date.

12. Contact

Questions about this Privacy Policy? Email hello@shortlink.pk or visit our Contact page.