Google changed search links.We changed them back.

Need to fix Google goto URL links? You're not imagining it: some results now pass through a /goto redirect, so copied links can point to Google instead of the page. This extension restores the real URL.

Install the fixSee before and after

Chrome · Edge · Firefox · Safari

Signed Firefox and notarized Safari downloads available.

Chrome showing a Google Search result whose bottom-left status bar contains a google.com/goto URL
The browser sees Google's redirectgoogle.com/goto?url=…

Same result. Real destination.

The result stays the same. Only the link becomes useful again.

Research Notes
example.com
A practical guide to cleaner links

An illustrative search result used to show the extension's behavior.

google.com/goto?url=…
Google's /goto redirect

Without the extension

google.com/goto?url=…

With the extension

example.com/guides/clean-links

Example URLs shown for illustration.

The old behavior, restored.

Copy clean links

What you paste is the destination URL.

See where you're going

Read the destination before opening the result.

Turn it off anytime

A simple browser control restores Google's default behavior.

What changed.

Google began routing some result links through a server-side /goto URL. The destination still opens, but the link you inspect or copy may be Google's passthrough instead of the page itself.

Early public sightings of the new redirect pattern appeared while the behavior was still inconsistent across searches.

Search-industry reporting documented broader tests and the practical downside: the visible result link no longer revealed the destination directly.

Google confirmed the rollout and described it as part of its technical measures against abuse. Observers also connected the change to making automated result collection harder.

No telemetry. No middleman.

Runs in your browser. It accesses the current Google Search page and sends only Google's own /goto URLs back to Google to resolve them.

Install it now.

Install on Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or Safari. Firefox and Safari downloads are signed for normal persistent installation.

Version 1.0.1 packages, signatures, and checksums are published on GitHub Releases.

Developer-mode install · v1.0.1

Get the Chrome build

Download and unzip the Chrome build into a permanent folder.

  1. Open chrome://extensions.
  2. Enable Developer mode in the upper-right.
  3. Choose Load unpacked.
  4. Select the unzipped extension folder.
  5. Pin Google Goto URL Fix from the Extensions menu if desired.
Chrome Extensions page with Developer mode and Load unpacked highlighted

Screenshot: Chrome for Developers, CC BY 4.0

Download Chrome v1.0.1

Keep the unzipped folder. For updates, replace its files with a newer release and click Reload on the Extensions page.

Chrome Web Store listing pending.

Read complete installation instructions