Story

I wanted to share a TikTok without my username going with it and popping up to the receiver, or TIkTok's advertising backend. What started as a simple question turned into a rabbit hole.

TikTok's links embed referrer parameters that identify who shared the link. Facebook's share link wrapper includes session hashes. YouTube's `si=` parameter likely logs the share against your profile. Etc. Etc. Etc. Etc.

Each platform implements this differently, and they change their schemes regularly. So I built a secure modular cleaner with a constantly updating database, after carefully inspecting the behavior of each platform.

The app uses a deny-by-default security model. If it doesn't recognize a parameter, it gets stripped. Behavior is configurable, and I tried to make it as self-explanatory as possible, and hopefully educational about exactly what the app does on your behalf and exactly what the platforms are doing with their parameters.

I feel like there's a kind of "physics" to internet interaction we used to understand intuitively. Click a link, go to a page. Share a link, send a URL. But platforms have been eroding this. Now sharing means sending a URL + your identity + session context + attribution metadata, all encoded in ways we can't read.

I built PrivateLink to scratch my own itch for that transparency, paired with one-touch sharing integration. The app shows you what's in the link, what gets stripped, and why. The goal isn't just "clean URLs" — it's understanding what happens when sharing from any app.

Available on iOS and Android, with a free version that cleans TikTok and Facebook shortlinks specifically, and a $0.99 pro unlock for any website.

Any and all feedback greatly appreciated!