Is this link safe?
Paste a link from a text, email or DM. LinkGuard reads the address itself, shows who really owns it, and can trace where it redirects without opening the page on your device.
Check a link
Step 1 runs in your browser. Nothing is sent anywhere until you press “Trace redirects” or “AI second opinion”.
What this checker does, and what it doesn't
Straight answer, because a lot of “link safety checkers” blur it: LinkGuard does not look your link up in a malware or phishing database. It applies about fifteen published warning signs to the address itself (lookalike brand names, the @ trick, raw IP addresses, punycode, shorteners, file downloads, hidden second addresses) and tells you which ones fired and why. The optional redirect trace requests the link from our server, so your phone never loads the page. The optional AI second opinion sends the link and these findings to a language model through Vercel AI Gateway; it judges the text, it doesn't browse the site.
For a reputation lookup as well, paste the same link into Google Safe Browsing's site status or VirusTotal, which query real threat lists. A new scam domain is often only hours old, though, and not on any list yet. That is exactly where reading the address carefully still catches it.
If you already clicked
- Just opening a page is rarely enough to infect an up-to-date phone or computer. The danger is what you do next.
- If you typed a password, change it now on the real site (type the address yourself) and turn on two-factor sign-in.
- If you entered card details, call the number on the back of your card.
- If a file downloaded, don't open it. Delete it and run your system's built-in security scan.
- Report the message: in the US forward scam texts to 7726 (SPAM); in the UK forward them to 7726 and emails to report@phishing.gov.uk.
Read a link right to left: find who owns it
Pick an example. The highlighted part is the only piece that decides who controls the page. Everything else can say anything.
https://paypal.com.account-review.help/signin
Owner: account-review.help. “paypal.com” here is just a subdomain label chosen by whoever registered account-review.help.
Questions people ask
Can a website tell me for certain that a link is safe?
No. Any checker, including database lookups, can only say it found no known problems. Brand-new scam pages and hacked legitimate sites slip through. Treat a clean result as “no red flags found”, not as a guarantee.
Is it safe to paste a suspicious link here?
Yes. Reading the address happens in your browser and does not visit the link. If you choose to trace redirects, our server requests the link on your behalf, so the page never loads on your device.
How do I check a link without clicking it?
On a computer, hover over it and read the address in the corner of the window. On a phone, press and hold the link and choose to copy it, then paste it into a checker like this one. Look at the domain right before the first single slash.
Are shortened links dangerous?
Not by themselves. Services like bit.ly are used by everyone. The problem is that they hide the destination, so expand them first to see where they lead.
What does a phishing link look like?
Usually a familiar brand name placed where it does not decide ownership: as a subdomain (paypal.com.example.help), in the path (example.top/paypal/login), before an @ sign, or spelled with lookalike characters (paypa1, rnicrosoft). Paired with urgent words like verify, suspended or unlock.