What are all those extra bits in a URL?
You have probably copied a link that looked something like ?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR2…. Everything after the question mark is a set of query parameters. Some of them are essential — they tell a page which product to show or which video to play. But many are added purely to track you: where you came from, which email you opened, which ad you clicked. Marketers use them to measure campaigns. They add nothing for the person receiving the link.
Meet the usual suspects
- UTM parameters (
utm_source,utm_medium,utm_campaign) are the most common. They come from Google Analytics and tell a website which marketing campaign sent you. - Click IDs like
fbclid(Facebook),gclid(Google Ads) andmsclkid(Microsoft) connect a click to a specific advertising profile. - Affiliate & commerce tags such as
tagandref_on shopping sites credit a referrer for a sale — useful to the seller, irrelevant to your friend.
Why bother cleaning them?
There are three good reasons. First, privacy: a tracking-free link doesn't quietly hand the recipient's platforms a record of how the link travelled. Second, tidiness: a short, readable link looks trustworthy and is far easier to paste into a message, a document or a slide. Third, accuracy: if you run your own analytics, stripping someone else's campaign tags before you re-share means your numbers don't get muddled by tags that were never meant for you.
What we remove — and what we protect
URL Valet is deliberately careful. It removes known tracking parameters — the whole utm_ family, click IDs, and common affiliate and email-marketing codes. Just as importantly, it never touches parameters that make a link work: search terms (q, search), page numbers, item IDs, and the v value that identifies a YouTube video. If a link is already clean, we tell you so and leave it exactly as it is. And because all of this runs locally in your browser, your links are never uploaded, logged, or stored.
Frequently asked
Is this safe? Do you see my links?
No. The cleaning happens entirely inside your own browser. Your links are never sent to a server, so there is nothing for us to see, store, or share.
Will a cleaned link still work?
Yes. We only remove parameters that exist for tracking. The parts of the link that load the right page are always kept.
Can I clean links faster?
Soon — our Chrome extension will let you clean the current tab with a single click, or right-click any link to copy a clean version. Check back for the launch.