How to Decode a Facebook, YouTube or Any Long Link
Updated 22 October 2026 · 2 min read
Links that you copy from Facebook, from a YouTube description or from a search result often do not point straight to the site. They go through the platform first, and the real address sits inside, URL encoded. Decoding shows you where the link really goes before you tap it.
Free toolURL Encoder & DecoderOpenWhat these links look like
A link shared on Facebook is often wrapped by the platform. The real address is in the u parameter:
https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fexample.com%2Foffer%3Fid%3D12&h=AT0abc...YouTube does the same for links in video descriptions. The destination is in the q parameter:
https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=...&q=https%3A%2F%2Fexample.com%2Fpage&v=VIDEO_IDGoogle search results used to work the same way, with the destination in a q or url parameter. Many other sites, such as email tracking tools, do it too.
How to find the real address
- Copy the whole link. On a phone, press and hold the link and choose Copy link address, rather than opening it.
- Open the URL Encoder & Decoder and choose Decode.
- Paste the link. The parameters table lists each part: look for u, q, url or redir.
- The decoded value of that parameter is the real address. In the example above it is https://example.com/offer?id=12.
What decoding can and cannot tell you
- It shows the real destination, so you can see whether the address matches what the message claims.
- It does not say whether the site is safe. A normal-looking address can still be a scam page.
- It does not remove tracking. Parts like fbclid or h are tokens added by the platform; the destination page may use them, and the redirect may need them.
- Skipping the platform's redirect page also skips any safety check it may do on the link.
Do not open links from unknown senders just because the decoded address looks normal. When a message asks for a password, a card number or an OTP, treat it as a scam.
If the decoded text still has % signs
Some links are encoded twice: the address is encoded, then the whole parameter is encoded again. If you still see %3A or %2F after decoding, press Decode again. See the guide on URL encoded characters for what each code means.
Decode a link with a Base64 part
Some tracking links hide the destination as Base64 text instead. URL decode the link first, then paste the Base64 part into the Base64 Encoder & Decoder. A + inside Base64 that turned into a space in the link should be put back as + before decoding.
Try it now: URL Encoder & Decoder
Decode an encoded URL into readable text, or encode text so it is safe inside a link. Query parameters are listed for you.