Quick summary: delete unnecessary trailing text from shared links as the link may contain additional info you don't want to share. Doing this also produces a neater link.
Make sure to check both the visible text and the underlying link (see pic at end).
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I often see long links shared in posts that contain additional information that could be removed before sharing the link. In most cases it's just tracking information (not actually that sinister!) or it might include the search phrase you used.
Things to take more care over are where you've entered your post code and it then shows up in the link as a geohash number.
1 Deliveroo example
I entered a fake London post code into Deliveroo and selected a shop, which I'm now sharing here -
https://deliveroo.co.uk/menu/London/victoria/waitrose-victoria-street?day=today&geohash=^gcpuuz2zjkj5^&time=ASAP
This link, for Waitrose on Victoria Street, shows the visible address of the shop.
My post code is hidden in the geohash "gcpuuz2zjkj5". If you took the geohash code and put it in a website that converts it back into an address you'd see exactly where I live (obviously I don't really live there!).
Try it. Overwrite whatever's in the geohash box here https://www.movable-type.co.uk/scripts/geohash.html with gcpuuz2zjkj5
It would be safer to share the link like this, deleting everything after the "?"
https://deliveroo.co.uk/menu/London/victoria/waitrose-victoria-street
2 Amazon example
I searched for address labels for wheelie bins and you can find that phrase (twice) in the overly long bit of text below.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/YIKIADA-Recycling-Stickers-Waterproof-Removable/dp/B0CTHN68G6/ref=sxin_16_pa_sp_search_thematic_sspa?content-id=amzn1.sym.82fd8c43-dd4d-4c5d-9db0-df7088ba15db%3Aamzn1.sym.82fd8c43-dd4d-4c5d-9db0-df7088ba15db&cv_ct_cx=address+labels+for+wheelie+bins&keywords=address+labels+for+wheelie+bins&pd_rd_i=B0CTHN68G6&pd_rd_r=da64c341-cafd-41a7-9c52-71e348554f0c&pd_rd_w=tEjZ8&pd_rd_wg=Rz7n3&pf_rd_p=82fd8c43-dd4d-4c5d-9db0-df7088ba15db&pf_rd_r=XHA66P3BH32N77FQC6ZM&qid=1751964676&sbo=9ZOMT9Jm0JH%2Ft%2BWi68iDSA%3D%3D&sr=1-1-ad3222ed-9545-4dc8-8dd8-6b2cb5278509-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9zZWFyY2hfdGhlbWF0aWM&psc=1
Nothing after the "/ref" is necessary for the link to work though. The version below will take you to the exact same page, but without all the cruft in the address.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/YIKIADA-Recycling-Stickers-Waterproof-Removable/dp/B0CTHN68G6/
3 General info
I think it's a good idea to be in the habit of pruning the less relevant bits (the 'cruft') from the end of links / URLs / web addresses. It makes the resulting link much shorter and is less likely to share info you might not want.
In many cases you can remove everything after a question mark ?, or with Amazon look for the term /ref and remove everything after that point. Of course you can test the pruned link to check it still works before sharing it.
Note that if you've pasted in a link into a Mumsnet post and it's gone blue then deleting some of the visible text isn't sufficient. You'd need to edit the underlying link too, removing text from both the link (URL / address) and the visible (clickable) bit (see pic below).
E.g. When I paste any link into Mumsnet and then press the space bar after the link I just pasted autoconverts itself into a blue clickable link, like this https://www.google.com/
If that was a longwinded link then deleting some of the visible text wouldn't have removed the cruft beneath it.
This clickable link https://www.google. should still take you to Google dot com.
I've deleted the 'com' from the visible part (but I've not removed it from the underlying link). To edit this correctly I'd need to adjust both the Text and the Link (see image below).
Jo