What is Shortshare and what does it do?

Updated

Shortshare is a utility app for shortening URLs across multiple URL shortener services. It runs on macOS, iOS, and Windows, and integrates with your browser and system share menus so you can shorten the current page without opening a separate website. The important caveat: Shortshare is no longer available for iOS and macOS. According to the developer, it can no longer be updated for reasons outside their control and is not compatible with iOS 27 / macOS 27 or newer. Existing customers can still download a fixed macOS build for macOS 27 and later.

What Shortshare does

The core function is URL shortening. Instead of pasting a link into a shortener's website, you trigger Shortshare and it sends the URL to the service you've configured.

It supports 14 established URL shortener services:

  • Bitly
  • Rebrandly
  • Shortio
  • Tinyurl
  • OpenMyLink
  • Kutt
  • Is.gd
  • Hive
  • Url.rw
  • Kurze Links
  • Linko
  • dub.co
  • dsh.re

It also supports custom APIs and self-hosted solutions such as YOURLS.

If your chosen shortener supports custom keywords, you can create branded links like bit.ly/your-short-url directly from the app.

How it fits into your workflow

Shortshare is designed to be triggered from wherever you already are, rather than as a destination you visit.

Platform How you shorten a link
macOS Menu bar icon, keyboard shortcut, Safari App Extension button, or Share Extension from any other browser
Windows Share menu — send a URL to the app
iOS Same feature set as the Mac version

On macOS, the native Safari App Extension adds a button to the Safari toolbar for shortening the current tab. For Chrome and Firefox on macOS, extensions are available from the Chrome Web Store and the Firefox Add-On Directory.

Link history synchronises automatically across macOS and iOS devices via iCloud.

Availability and current status

Shortshare was distributed through the Mac App Store (macOS), the App Store (iOS), and the Microsoft Store (Windows). It was featured by Apple as a Standout Safari Extension and a Great New App.

The current situation matters if you're deciding whether to adopt it:

  • iOS and macOS versions are discontinued. They are no longer available and are not compatible with iOS 27 / macOS 27 or newer.
  • A fixed macOS build exists for existing customers on macOS 27 and later — this is a download for people who already own the app, not a new purchase path described on the site.
  • Windows availability is listed on the site, but the discontinuation notice specifically names iOS and macOS, so verify the current Windows listing in the Microsoft Store before relying on it.

Who should still consider it

If you're on Windows and want a share-menu-driven shortener that supports many services plus self-hosted options like YOURLS, Shortshare's feature set is still relevant — check the Microsoft Store listing for its current state.

If you're on macOS or iOS, the practical answer is that this is no longer a viable new choice. Existing macOS customers running macOS 27 or newer should use the fixed build the developer provides. Anyone else looking for a similar tool should evaluate currently maintained alternatives, since the developer states the app cannot be updated further.

For setup help with a supported shortener, the developer points to a knowledge base linked from the site's Support section.