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Why Traditional URL Shorteners Are a Privacy Nightmare
When you click a bit.ly link, here’s what happens:
- Bit.ly logs your IP, timestamp, user agent
- They see the destination URL
- They track your browsing patterns
- They sell this data to advertisers
Even if you trust the shortener, their database can be hacked.
Introducing Cryptly
I built cryptly to solve this problem using blockchain and encryption.
How It Works
- Encryption (Client-Side)
const encrypted = await crypto.subtle.encrypt(
{ name: "AES-GCM", iv: iv },
key,
urlBuffer
);
Blockchain Storage
- Encrypted URL stored on Cronos blockchain
- Immutable, decentralized
- No centralized database to hack
Decryption (Browser)
- Browser fetches from blockchain
- Decrypts …
Why Traditional URL Shorteners Are a Privacy Nightmare
When you click a bit.ly link, here’s what happens:
- Bit.ly logs your IP, timestamp, user agent
- They see the destination URL
- They track your browsing patterns
- They sell this data to advertisers
Even if you trust the shortener, their database can be hacked.
Introducing Cryptly
I built cryptly to solve this problem using blockchain and encryption.
How It Works
- Encryption (Client-Side)
const encrypted = await crypto.subtle.encrypt(
{ name: "AES-GCM", iv: iv },
key,
urlBuffer
);
Blockchain Storage
- Encrypted URL stored on Cronos blockchain
- Immutable, decentralized
- No centralized database to hack
Decryption (Browser)
- Browser fetches from blockchain
- Decrypts locally using Web Crypto API
- Server never sees destination
Architecture
Tech Stack:
- Cloudflare Workers (serverless, edge deployment)
- Web Crypto API (native browser encryption)
- Cronos blockchain (decentralized storage)
Privacy Benefits:
- ✅ Server never sees destination URLs
- ✅ No tracking, no analytics
- ✅ No database to leak
- ✅ Censorship-resistant (blockchain)
Try It
Live demo: cryptly.workers.dev GitHub: github.com/your-username/cryptly
Still in early stages but feedback welcome!