To inspect a link before it opens on Android, use URLCheck as an intermediary handler: it can show URL details before you choose a browser, according to Isaac Akinleye’s hands-on account for MakeUseOf. Chrome Safe Browsing provides separate warnings about unsafe sites, extensions, and downloads while you browse in Chrome.
Inspect a link with URLCheck
When URLCheck handles a tapped link, it can display the address’s domain, path, query parameters, and fragment before passing the link to a browser. The URLCheck project describes the app as an intermediary for inspecting and modifying links. A browser selector lets you choose where to open one, including in a private window.
Akinleye describes URLCheck’s Check status option as following redirects and its Unshort option as expanding short links through unshorten.me. In his examples, one shortened YouTube link expanded, while another tracking link did not.
Apply suggested changes instead of editing URLs by hand
URLCheck can mark suggested changes to a link and apply them. In Akinleye’s examples, those suggested changes preserved the expected destinations. Manually removing URL parts had different results: a Top One Futures link went to the wrong destination, a Mandrill link returned a 404 error, and a Reddit digest link opened the home feed instead of the intended post.
Use the app’s suggested changes rather than deleting unfamiliar path or query components yourself. Akinleye’s examples show that manual edits can break a link or change where it leads.
Set Chrome Safe Browsing for browser warnings
Chrome Safe Browsing is a separate option for warnings while using Chrome. Google’s Android instructions for Safe Browsing give this route: Chrome > More > Settings > Privacy and security > Safe Browsing.
Standard protection checks sites, installed extensions, and downloads against unsafe lists. It first checks locally stored lists and may send an obfuscated part of a URL through a privacy server when needed. Enhanced protection performs real-time checks and sends Google more activity information, which can include URLs visited, a small sample of page content, downloads, extension activity, and system information. That additional data sharing is the trade-off when choosing Enhanced protection.
Choose a URLCheck download route before switching
The URLCheck project lists Google Play, F-Droid, GitHub releases, IzzyOnDroid, and Obtainium as download routes. Builds from Google Play, F-Droid, and the GitHub, Obtainium, and IzzyOnDroid group use different signing certificates. Switching between those groups requires uninstalling the existing app; the project recommends backing up and restoring app data when migrating.
Read warnings and connection indicators carefully
A successful link check is not a guarantee that a website is harmless. Akinleye notes that URLCheck does not guarantee site safety. Google also distinguishes a secure connection from a trustworthy site: the address-bar symbol describes the connection, and Google advises checking the site name before sharing sensitive information. A red, full-page warning means Safe Browsing has flagged the site as unsafe, according to Google’s Android guidance on connection security.
For a link received in another app, URLCheck lets you inspect the address before choosing a browser. For warnings while browsing in Chrome, use Safe Browsing; Enhanced protection adds real-time checks and shares more activity information with Google.
