Bitly is a legitimate link-shortening service, but you shouldn't just click on one of them unless you know for sure where it will take you. But there is a safe way to click on a Bitly link: all you have to do is add a “+” to the end of it (a “plus” sign).
Consequently, are bit ly links dangerous?
“This means that anyone who randomly scans bit.ly URLs will find thousands of unlocked OneDrive folders and can modify existing files in them or upload arbitrary content, potentially including malware.” This way of distributing malware is worrisome because it is both quick and effective.
Secondly, how do I know if a bitly link is safe? Bitly takes extensive measures to ensure the links sent through our system are safe. You can verify the destination of any Bitly link by adding a plus symbol ("+") at the end of the URL. Entering an address like bitly.is/meta and adding the "+" at the end will direct you to a page displaying the link's information.
Also asked, why you should not use bit ly?
URL Shorteners reduce the amount of control you have over your URL. In some cases, legitimate short URLs are reported as spam. Because URL Shortening services like Bit.ly need to protect their own SEO and business, they'll disable those links in order to avoid getting on spam blacklists.
What domain is bit ly?
. ly is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Libya. In 2011, the bit.ly address was set to redirect to bitly.com.