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Troubleshooting

The problems people actually hit, and what each one usually turns out to be.

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6 articles in Troubleshooting

My link still goes to the old destination

Almost always a cached 301 in the visitor’s browser rather than a stale record on our side.

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.
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.
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.

Our own cache is invalidated on save

The cached resolution is dropped the moment you save an edit, so a stale answer from us lasts no longer than the request that was already in flight.

“That slug is already taken”

Why a slug can be unavailable even when you cannot see it in your account.

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.

My destination URL was rejected

The four reasons a destination is refused, and what to do about each.

Message	Cause	Fix
Not a valid URL	Missing scheme, or a space in the address.	Include https:// and remove whitespace.
Destination not allowed	The address resolves to a private, loopback or link-local range.	Use a publicly reachable address. Internal hosts cannot be short-linked.
Blocked destination	The registrable domain is on the operator blocklist.	Ask for a review at [email protected] with the exact URL.
Flagged as unsafe	Screening heuristics or Safe Browsing matched.	Check whether the page has been compromised, then request a re-check.

My click numbers look wrong

Bot filtering, preview fetchers, caching and tracking switches all change the number.

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.

The password page keeps asking for the password

A cookie problem in nearly every case.

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.

I am not receiving emails from the platform

Verification, reset and notification emails, and where they usually end up.

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.

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