URL De-Tracker 🔗✂️
Paste a link → get a clean link.
Automatically removes tracking garbage (utm_*
, fbclid
, gclid
, Amazon affiliate tags, etc.) from any URL you paste in Visual Studio Code. No external APIs - everything happens locally on your machine.
✨ What Makes This Different
❌ NOT a URL Shortener
- No TinyURL, Bitly, or external services - we don't create new short links
- No network calls - your URLs never leave your computer
- No third-party dependencies - pure local string processing
- No click tracking - unlike URL shorteners that track every click
✅ URL Cleaner & Tracker Remover
- Keeps original domain -
amazon.com
stays amazon.com
- Removes only junk parameters - preserves functional ones
- 100% offline operation - works without internet after installation
- Privacy-first approach - your links remain completely private
✨ Features
- 🚀 Automatic clean-paste – intercepts
Ctrl/Cmd + V
and strips 95%+ of tracker parameters
- 🔧 Smart preservation – keeps essential params (YouTube video IDs, Amazon variants, auth tokens)
- ⚡ One-click toggle – status bar shows
🔗 Clean ON/OFF
- 🔒 100% offline & private – no external API calls, URLs never transmitted anywhere
- 🎯 Heavy-duty rules – specialized cleaning for Amazon, eBay, social media links
- 🚫 No URL shortening – maintains original domain for transparency
Before & After Examples
| Before (tracking junk) | After (clean) |
|------------------------|---------------|
| https://amazon.com/product/dp/B123?th=1&psc=1%60 |
https://amazon.com/product/dp/B123?th=1&psc=1| |
https://youtube.com/watch?v=abc&t=42s%60 | https://youtube.com/watch?v=abc&t=42s
|
| https://news.com/article?id=42%60 |
https://news.com/article?id=42` |
Notice: The domain stays the same - we clean, not shorten!
🔒 Privacy & Security
Why No External APIs?
- Corporate compliance - many companies ban external URL services
- Privacy protection - your browsing habits aren't tracked
- Reliability - works offline, no service downtime
- Speed - instant processing without network delays
- Transparency - you can see exactly where links point
What We DON'T Do
- ❌ Send URLs to TinyURL, Bitly, or any external service
- ❌ Create redirect links through third-party domains
- ❌ Track your usage or collect analytics
- ❌ Require internet connection after installation
- ❌ Store or log your URLs anywhere
What We DO
- ✅ Process URLs locally using JavaScript regex patterns
- ✅ Preserve the original destination domain
- ✅ Keep functional parameters needed for the link to work
- ✅ Work completely offline once installed
📦 Installation
Method 1: VS Code Marketplace (Recommended)
🔗 Direct Link: Install URL De-Tracker
Via Command Line:
code --install-extension rishitkar.url-detracker
This command works globally on any computer with VS Code installed!
Via VS Code Interface:
- Open VS Code
- Press
Ctrl+Shift+X
(Extensions view)
- Search:
URL De-Tracker
or rishitkar
- Click Install
- Reload when prompted
🚀 Quick Start Guide
1. Verify Installation
After installation, check the status bar (bottom-right) shows: 🔗 Clean ON
2. Test with Real Links
Copy this messy Amazon URL:
https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Wireless-Charging/dp/B09G9F54DC?th=1&psc=1
Paste in VS Code (Ctrl+V
/ Cmd+V
) → becomes:
https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Wireless-Charging/dp/B09G9F54DC?th=1&psc=1
3. See the Magic
- ✅ Brief toast:
🔗 tracking params removed
- ✅ Status bar shows activity
- ✅ Clean, readable URL - still points to Amazon, just without junk
- ✅ No external service calls made
💝 Love this extension? Star it on GitHub and share with your team!