2
2 Comments

Hover over links in email newsletters and see where it redirects to

Hi,

I subscribe to email newsletters which contain hyperlinks. I'd like to be able to hover over a hyperlink and see what the URL is before deciding whether to click on it.

However, the hyperlinks are something like this:

https://ben-evans.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b98e2de85f03865f1d38de74f&id=84e2ac79f9&e=749d74a805

and I can't easily work out where the hyperlink links to.

(FWIW, this link redirects to: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-cyber-florida-idUSKBN2A82FV?taid=6021cab1d3964a0001081cd0&utm_source=Benedict's+Newsletter&utm_campaign=05e1fbe6a6-Benedict's+newsletter_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4999ca107f-05e1fbe6a6-71266513 )

Is there some way which lets me find out the destination URL without me having to click on it first?

I don't like clicking on links in emails without seeing where it leads to. For example, if I can see that it's a dubious looking domain, then I would be more careful in case it's a phishing site.

FWIW, I use Gmail so a Gmail specific solution (browser extension?) could work for me. Seeing the link by hovering over it seems natural to me, but I'd consider alternatives too.

Thanks all for reading!

posted to Icon for group Ideas and Validation
Ideas and Validation
on February 19, 2021
  1. 1

    Hi all,

    I built my own solution to this. It's a bit raw and I don't know how scalable it is.

    Please see: https://bengtan.com/blog/email-cleaner-clean-tracking-links-and-pixels/

    Thanks!

  2. 1

    Obviously, I've posted a description of a problem instead of an idea. But if there isn't an existing solution to this problem, then it's a potential idea to consider.

Trending on Indie Hackers
5 days post-launch: Top 50 on Product Hunt, zero signups, and why I think that's actually fine User Avatar 134 comments The feature you're most sure about is the one you should question first User Avatar 121 comments I built an AI fitness coach, then realized AI was only solving half my funnel User Avatar 64 comments I let 3 LLMs argue on the famous AI "Car wash: Walk or Drive" problem to prove a point. User Avatar 50 comments I built a macOS app to make mobile E2E testing less awful User Avatar 41 comments Built a local-first privacy extension. Looking for feedback. User Avatar 39 comments