Building a Privacy-First URL Shortener on Blockchain

Why Traditional URL Shorteners Are a Privacy Nightmare

When you click a bit.ly link, here's what happens:

1. Bit.ly logs your IP, timestamp, user agent
2. They see the destination URL
3. They track your browsing patterns
4. They sell this data to advertisers

Even if you trust the shortener, their database can be hacked.

Introducing Cryptly

I built cryptly to solve this problem using blockchain and encryption.

How It Works

1. Encryption (Client-Side)

   const encrypted = await crypto.subtle.encrypt(
     { name: "AES-GCM", iv: iv },
     key,
     urlBuffer
   );

1. Blockchain Storage

   • Encrypted URL stored on Cronos blockchain
   • Immutable, decentralized
   • No centralized database to hack

2. Decryption (Browser)

   • Browser fetches from blockchain
   • Decrypts locally using Web Crypto API
   • Server never sees destination

Architecture

Tech Stack:

• Cloudflare Workers (serverless, edge deployment)
• Web Crypto API (native browser encryption)
• Cronos blockchain (decentralized storage)

Privacy Benefits:

• ✅ Server never sees destination URLs
• ✅ No tracking, no analytics
• ✅ No database to leak
• ✅ Censorship-resistant (blockchain)

Try It

Live demo: cryptly.link
GitHub: github.com/your-username/cryptly

Still in early stages but feedback welcome!

privacy #blockchain #webdev #opensource