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URL Shortener

The University of Missouri System utilizes the TinyCC platform in order to offer shortened URLs for either the umurl.us or mizzou.us official domains.

What is UMURL.us used for?

UMURL.us and MIZZOU.us were created to direct users to longer URLs using a short link that fits better in email messages and social media services where character counts are limited. Entering a UMURL.us or mizzou.us URL into your browser will automatically direct you to the content designated by the person who created the short URL.

How can I create my own UMURL.us link?

If you're looking for a public URL shortener to create your own short links, try bit.ly, SnipURL or TinyURL.

While all links generated by UMURL.us or MIZZOU.us are available to the public, the ability to create links is restricted to authorized University of Missouri System staff members.  This is done to protect the integrity of the domains and ensure the service remains reliable.

Request a shortened URL

One of your URLs isn't working. What can I do?

First recheck to make sure you've entered the URL exactly as displayed. Please make sure you're not substituting similar-looking letters and numbers (such as "1" and the lowercase "L").

If you're still having problems, there is a chance the link you've entered as been removed. Links are removed for a variety of reasons and we are unable to retrieve deleted URLs once they have been removed from the database. Contact the referring site for more information.

What is this random string of letters and numbers?

Our system dynamically generates a unique, random string of letters and numbers for each URL it shortens. These links are determined at random and, unless they have been specially created, don't stand for anything or have any significance.

What is this ".us" part?

UMURL.us uses an alternate domain extension, .us, for its URLs. The ".us" was originally intended to stand for "United States" but .us domain holders aren't limited to U.S. organizations or individuals. We selected .us because it allowed us to eliminate one character from our URLs (for example, ".edu" has three characters while ".us" has only two). On sites such as Twitter that restrict your character count, saving even one character can be a big help.

What if I find an offensive UMURL.us link?

We take the integrity of our URL shortener seriously. If you find inappropriate or offensive content that is being linked to using a UMURL.us or MIZZOU.us URL, please email digitalservice@missouri.edu with the URL in question. We'll investigate and take appropriate action.

Reviewed 2022-08-05