Jump to content

Bitly: Difference between revisions

From Consumer Rights Wiki
Added more info on User Privacy.
m http to https with AutoWikiBrowser, replaced: http: → https: (2)
Line 16: Line 16:


===Data Breach (2014-05-08)===
===Data Breach (2014-05-08)===
The company suffered from a data breach in May of 2014, resulting in 9.3 million of users' access credentials to be compromised.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-05-09 |title=Bitly link-shortening service 'compromised' |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-27340494 |access-date=2025-08-16 |website=BBC}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-10-06 |title=Bitly |url=https://haveibeenpwned.com/breach/Bitly |access-date=2025-08-16 |website=haveibeenpwned.com}}</ref> The CEO Mark Josephson then published a blog post explaining the issue and providing the appropriate safety measures.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Josephson |first=Mark |date=2014-05-08 |title=Urgent Security Update Regarding Your Bitly Account |url=http://blog.bitly.com/post/85169217199/urgent-security-update-regarding-your-bitly-account |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140509101322/http://blog.bitly.com/post/85169217199/urgent-security-update-regarding-your-bitly-account |archive-date=2014-05-09 |access-date=2025-08-16 |website=Bitly}}</ref>
The company suffered from a data breach in May of 2014, resulting in 9.3 million of users' access credentials to be compromised.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-05-09 |title=Bitly link-shortening service 'compromised' |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-27340494 |access-date=2025-08-16 |website=BBC}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-10-06 |title=Bitly |url=https://haveibeenpwned.com/breach/Bitly |access-date=2025-08-16 |website=haveibeenpwned.com}}</ref> The CEO Mark Josephson then published a blog post explaining the issue and providing the appropriate safety measures.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Josephson |first=Mark |date=2014-05-08 |title=Urgent Security Update Regarding Your Bitly Account |url=https://blog.bitly.com/post/85169217199/urgent-security-update-regarding-your-bitly-account |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140509101322/https://blog.bitly.com/post/85169217199/urgent-security-update-regarding-your-bitly-account |archive-date=2014-05-09 |access-date=2025-08-16 |website=Bitly}}</ref>


===QR-Code-Generator.com “free” QR code lockout (2025-07-30)===
===QR-Code-Generator.com “free” QR code lockout (2025-07-30)===

Revision as of 17:54, 11 February 2026

Bitly
Basic information
Founded 2008
Legal Structure Private
Industry Software, Information Technology, Technology
Also known as
Official website https://bitly.com/

Bitly is a link management platform, offering url shortening and QR code generator services. Bitly, Inc. is a private technology company founded in 2008.

Consumer-impact summary

User Privacy: Users account credentails was compromised in a data breach. When you create an account, your name, phone number, company name, industry, job title, company size, email address, phone number and sign-in information are collected from you.[1]

Business Model: QR codes marketed as "free" on qr-code-generator.com later stop working unless a subscription is purchased, resulting in wasted marketing materials and unexpected costs.

Incidents

This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the Bitly category.

Data Breach (2014-05-08)

The company suffered from a data breach in May of 2014, resulting in 9.3 million of users' access credentials to be compromised.[2][3] The CEO Mark Josephson then published a blog post explaining the issue and providing the appropriate safety measures.[4]

QR-Code-Generator.com “free” QR code lockout (2025-07-30)

Main article: QR-Code-Generator.com “free” QR code lockout

Bitly’s qr-code-generator.com advertises “free” QR codes but later disables them unless users pay, breaking printed materials and creating hidden costs for businesses.[5][6]

Products

  • Bitly Link Management Platform
  • QR-Code-Generator.com

See also

References

  1. "Privacy Policy". Bitly. Retrieved 30 August 2025.
  2. "Bitly link-shortening service 'compromised'". BBC. 2014-05-09. Retrieved 2025-08-16.
  3. "Bitly". haveibeenpwned.com. 2017-10-06. Retrieved 2025-08-16.
  4. Josephson, Mark (2014-05-08). "Urgent Security Update Regarding Your Bitly Account". Bitly. Archived from the original on 2014-05-09. Retrieved 2025-08-16.
  5. "How can I reactivate my QR Codes?". QR Code Generator Support. 20 Jun 2024. Retrieved 15 Aug 2025.
  6. "I received a message saying that my QR Codes will be deactivated. What does that mean?". QR Code Generator Support. 11 Jun 2025. Retrieved 15 Aug 2025.