Troubleshooting

1. 1

   Check the link in a private window

   If it goes to the new destination there, our side is correct and the original browser is holding a cached permanent redirect.

2. 2

   Check the redirect type

   A 301 or 308 tells browsers to remember the answer. There is no way to recall that from our side once it is cached.

3. 3

   Switch the link to 302 for the future

   It will not clear what is already cached, but it prevents the same trap on the next edit.

• Slugs are unique per domain. Someone else on the shared domain may already hold it — moving the link to your own custom domain makes the whole namespace yours.
• The slug may be reserved. Anything that would collide with a platform route is kept back so a link cannot shadow a real page.
• You may already own it on an archived or disabled link. Archived links still hold their slug.
• Changing the capitalisation does not free it up. Availability is checked without regard to case, so Launch is taken the moment launch is.

• Bot traffic is excluded by default. Turning the filter off usually explains a gap between our count and a raw server log.
• Messaging apps and social platforms fetch a link to build a preview card. Those are identified as automated and filtered.
• A cached 301 means a repeat visitor never reaches us again, so the click is not counted.
• If tracking is switched off on the link, nothing is recorded at all — that is the switch working.
• Your destination’s own analytics will not match ours. It counts page views after the redirect; we count the redirect.

A correct password sets a cookie scoped to that link. If the browser refuses cookies — strict privacy mode, an extension, or an in-app webview — the redirect immediately asks again because there is nothing to check.

• Open the link in a normal browser window rather than an app’s built-in browser.
• Allow cookies for the short domain.
• Repeated wrong answers are rate limited; wait for the window named in the message rather than retrying.

• Check the spam or promotions folder first — that is where the majority end up.
• Confirm the address on the account has no typo.
• Corporate filters sometimes quarantine mail containing links; ask your administrator to check the quarantine.
• Requests are rate limited, so asking repeatedly in quick succession delays rather than helps.

If none of that helps, write to [email protected] from any address and name the account address in the message.