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🔗 Redirect Chain Viewer

Trace every hop a URL makes before reaching its destination — expose trackers, cross-domain jumps, and potential security issues.

📚 Why Redirects Matter for Security and Privacy

Tracking redirects: Marketing links often pass through redirect chains that append UTM parameters, click IDs (fbclid, gclid), and affiliate codes. Each hop can tell a third party who you are, where you came from, and what you clicked.

HTTP downgrade risk: If a redirect passes through HTTP (unencrypted) at any point, cookies, session tokens, and other sensitive headers can be intercepted by anyone on the same network.

Open redirect abuse: Some sites accept a destination URL as a parameter (e.g. ?next=https://evil.com). Attackers use these to craft convincing phishing links that start at a trusted domain but end somewhere malicious.

Redirect loops: Misconfigured servers can create infinite redirect loops, causing browsers to give up with a "Too many redirects" error and users to see a broken site.

How to use this tool

1 Enter the URL you want to trace in the input field.

2 Click Trace Redirects.

3 The tool follows each HTTP redirect and shows the full chain from start to final destination.

4 Check each step for suspicious domains or unexpected status codes.

Frequently asked questions

Why do URLs redirect?

Redirects are used for link shorteners, tracking clicks, moving pages to new addresses, and forcing HTTPS.

What is a redirect loop?

A redirect loop happens when two or more URLs redirect to each other indefinitely. Browsers stop after a set number of hops and show an error.

What do the HTTP status codes mean?

301 and 308 are permanent redirects. 302 and 307 are temporary. 200 means the final destination was reached successfully.

Is it safe to click a shortened URL?

Trace it first to see the final destination before clicking. Shortened URLs can hide phishing sites or malware download pages.