Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

ShadyURL VS Zero Width Shortener

Compare ShadyURL VS Zero Width Shortener and see what are their differences

ShadyURL logo ShadyURL

Don't just shorten your URL, make it suspicious and frightening.

Zero Width Shortener logo Zero Width Shortener

Shorten URLs with zero-width characters
  • ShadyURL Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-09-19
  • Zero Width Shortener Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-29

ShadyURL features and specs

  • Anonymity
    ShadyURL allows users to create URLs that obscure the destination link, providing a layer of anonymity for the destination website.
  • Humor
    The service often creates intentionally suspicious or funny URL names, which can be used for comedic effects in social interactions.
  • Pranking
    It can be used for lighthearted pranks, as the URLs can make recipients curious or wary about clicking the link.
  • Ease of Use
    ShadyURL is simple and straightforward to use, requiring only the original URL to generate a shady version.

Possible disadvantages of ShadyURL

  • Trust Issues
    The suspicious nature of the URLs could discourage users from clicking on them, as they might suspect malicious content.
  • Phishing Concerns
    It could potentially be exploited for phishing attacks, as the real destination URL is obscured.
  • Professionalism
    Using URLs generated by ShadyURL may not be appropriate in professional or formal communications due to their dubious appearance.
  • Limited Use Case
    The primary use case is for humor or pranking, which limits its practicality in more serious applications.

Zero Width Shortener features and specs

  • Privacy
    The use of zero-width characters makes URLs harder to detect and trace, enhancing privacy.
  • Customization
    Users can embed zero-width characters into URLs, providing a way to customize links without affecting their appearance.
  • Data Concealment
    Zero-width characters can hide information within URLs, making it useful for specific security or data obfuscation applications.
  • No Visual Impact
    The zero-width characters do not alter the visual appearance of the URL, maintaining visual consistency.

Possible disadvantages of Zero Width Shortener

  • Compatibility Issues
    Some platforms and applications might not recognize zero-width characters properly, potentially leading to broken links.
  • Security Risk
    The hidden nature of zero-width characters can be exploited for malicious purposes, such as hiding phishing links or malware.
  • Debugging Difficulty
    Identifying problems with URLs containing zero-width characters can be challenging, complicating debugging efforts.
  • Misuse Potential
    Because zero-width characters can be invisible, thereโ€™s a risk they could be misused for sneaky or unethical purposes.

Analysis of Zero Width Shortener

Overall verdict

  • Zero Width Shortener can be considered 'good' for users seeking to create novel, discreet, or filtered URLs. However, it may not be suitable for all situations, especially if transparency is a priority or if there are concerns about the URL's legitimacy from the recipients' perspective.

Why this product is good

  • Zero Width Shortener (zws.im) is a tool that allows users to create short URLs that contain zero-width characters. This provides a unique way to conceal the URL's destination, making it less obvious at first glance. Such URLs can be useful for novelty purposes, sharing links with a touch of mystery, or bypassing certain filters that scrutinize URLs based on visible text.

Recommended for

  • Tech enthusiasts interested in innovative URL solutions
  • Users looking to share links in a novel way
  • Individuals trying to bypass simple URL filters

ShadyURL videos

ShadyURL: Make Suspicious & Frightening URLs

More videos:

Zero Width Shortener videos

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to ShadyURL and Zero Width Shortener)
Link Management
20 20%
80% 80
URL Shortener
17 17%
83% 83
Branded URLs
21 21%
79% 79
Links
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, ShadyURL should be more popular than Zero Width Shortener. It has been mentiond 10 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

ShadyURL mentions (10)

  • A URL shortener not shortening the URL but makes it look dodgy
    My goto for this purpose used to be https://shadyurl.com but sadly it seems like it's gone, so glad to have a replacement! - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
  • Hacker News top posts: May 15, 2022
    ShadyURL: Don't just shorten your URL, make it suspicious and frightening\ (25 comments). Source: over 3 years ago
  • ShadyURL: Don't just shorten your URL, make it suspicious and frightening
    The function f is idempotent, if f(x) = f(f(x)) For this URL shortener, if http://www.5z8.info/super-nsfw_g0v1ba_hot-older-goats.mov (from above) points to http://shadyurl.com/, then shortening http://www.5z8.info/super-nsfw_g0v1ba_hot-older-goats.mov should also return http://www.5z8.info/super-nsfw_g0v1ba_hot-older-goats.mov. It's not enough for it to always return the same URL for the same input... - Source: Hacker News / over 3 years ago
  • This is the single most creepiest link Iโ€™ve ever seen.. thoughts?
    Theres a website that literally makes links creepy lol Heres the site Type anything in and it makes your url weird. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Poop.is โ€“ A Crappy Link Shortener
    Also mentioned on HN quite a while ago: http://shadyurl.com. - Source: Hacker News / over 3 years ago
View more

Zero Width Shortener mentions (2)

  • TikTok tells staff impacted by wildfires to use sick hours if they can't work
    > Google used to watermark internal emails using non-visible Unicode. It would catch people copy-pasting things to the press. How does that even work? I assume the unique identifiers are generated along the lines of https://zws.im but do they send a different version of the same email to each unique recipient? Or does the watermark get inserted by some email client when copying text? - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago
  • Oda gets sent an IP grabber 1 hour before Runescape DMM tourney
    It works for link shorteners like https://zws.im/ so it will work for ip grabbers too. I don't think I've seen one like that though. Source: over 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing ShadyURL and Zero Width Shortener, you can also consider the following products

Polr - An open source URL shortener. A great non-profit and free alternative to bit.ly, TinyURL, or goo.gl.

YOURLS - YOURLS is a website that contains all the tools you need to create and launch your very own URL shortener. URL shorteners like bitly or TinyURL are fine for public use, but they offer limited options in terms of URL customization.

Bitly - Get the most out of your social and online marketing efforts. Own, understand and activate your best audience through the power of the link with Bitly Enterprise.

Kutt.it - Kutt.it is a free and open source URL shortener with custom domains and stats.

Lstu - A nice and open source url shortener. You can use it as service or install it on your own server.

TinyURL - Are you sick of posting URLs in emails only to have it break when sent causing the recipient to...