Bitly Transparency Report – 2022
Bitly is a versatile platform that provides all the tools you need to connect with your audiences and customers. We work proactively to protect our users, including our paid customers, users with free accounts, and anyone who clicks a link or scans a QR Code created in Bitly.
We sometimes receive requests from official parties to access personal information stored in our systems. In keeping with our commitment to safety and transparency, we’ve prepared this Transparency Report detailing the number of requests received and responded to in 2022.
Requests
These requests come from domestic and foreign governments, including law enforcement agencies.
Requests from US entities
In 2023, we received both court orders and government subpoenas:
Requests from foreign governments
“Non-domesticated requests” refer to requests directly from a foreign entity, while “domesticated requests” refer to those requests from a United States court on behalf of a foreign entity.
Responses
We responded to all US requests, as well as domesticated foreign requests, as required by law. We did not respond to any non-domesticated foreign requests.
Combating abuse
The most common way bad actors attempt to abuse the Bitly system is by shortening malicious links. The majority of these are intended for use in phishing attacks. A smaller number are used for malware and spam.
Our Trust & Safety team enforces our policies through a combination of internal technologies, third-party vendors who specialize in abuse detection, trusted tech partners, and NGOs.
We maintain up-to-date Terms of Service, an Acceptable Use Policy, and the Bitly Code of Conduct to communicate our values and set enforceable guidelines for how our service can be used.
Summary
This Transparency Report detailed the number of legal requests from domestic and foreign governmental entities received in 2022, as well as the number of requests we responded to.
We will continue to release Transparency Reports into the future. We also encourage the public to report abusive links through this form.