Affiliate & Tracking Link Redirect Tracer

Paste any short link, affiliate link or ad link and get the full journey to its real destination — every hop, every tracking ID picked up along the way, the affiliate network behind it, and whether the link is still alive.

Why use this actor

• No account, no key, no login — paste links, press Run.
• See every single hop, not just the last one: status code, next address, response time, and the cookies each hop drops on the visitor.
• Catches hidden redirects that a simple link checker misses — bounces built into the page itself (automatic page refresh and small in-page scripts), which is exactly how cloaked links hide their destination.
• Identifies the affiliate network (Amazon Associates, AliExpress Portals, Awin, CJ, Impact, Rakuten, ShareASale, Skimlinks, ClickBank, Partnerize, Admitad, TradeDoubler, Pepperjam, Sovrn, Geniuslink, FlexOffers and more) — and stays honest, returning null when it cannot prove one.
• Pulls out every tracking ID in the chain (tag, aff_id, subid, clickid, irclickid, gclid, fbclid, utm_*, …) and tells you which hop each one appeared on — perfect for checking that your partner IDs survive to the merchant.
• Flags dead and hijacked links: expired, deactivated and removed links come back as a clean record with the real status code, so you can audit thousands of links and sort the broken ones.
• Stops safely on redirect loops and on your hop limit, and says exactly why it stopped.
• Clean, stable JSON for spreadsheets, dashboards and databases. Export to JSON, CSV or Excel, or run it on a schedule.

Typical uses: affiliate-compliance audits ("where does this link really go?"), spotting cloaked or hijacked links in your own content, ad-fraud checks, building an inventory of the tracking companies a campaign passes through, and monitoring partner links for breakage.

How it works

1. Add the links you want checked (short links, affiliate links, ad links, or plain URLs).
2. The actor opens the first link like a real visitor would and records what came back instead of blindly jumping to the end.
3. It keeps stepping forward — normal redirects, automatic page refreshes and simple in-page bounces are all followed — recording each stop, until it reaches a page that does not redirect any further.
4. From the finished chain it works out the destination, the merchant, the affiliate network, the tracking IDs and the intermediate tracking companies, and flags anything that looks cloaked.
5. One record per link lands in your dataset with the summary at the top and the full hop-by-hop detail underneath.

You do not manage any scrapers, browsers or servers — retries, timeouts, loop protection and hop limits are handled for you.

Input

{
  "startUrls": [
    { "url": "https://amzn.to/3QZv1kM" },
    { "url": "https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DdJcHZv" },
    { "url": "https://bit.ly/3xyzabc" }
  ],
  "maxHops": 15,
  "timeoutSeconds": 20,
  "userAgent": "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/124.0.0.0 Safari/537.36",
  "followMetaRefresh": true,
  "followJsRedirects": true,
  "maxItems": 100,
  "maxConcurrency": 4
}

Field	Type	Description
startUrls	array	The links to trace. One output record per link.
maxHops	integer	How many redirects to follow before stopping (default 15).
timeoutSeconds	integer	How long to wait for each single hop (default 20).
userAgent	string	Which browser to appear as. Some links send desktop, mobile and bot visitors to different places, so this can change the destination. Leave blank for the built-in desktop Chrome identity.
followMetaRefresh	boolean	Follow redirects hidden in the page as an automatic refresh (default true).
followJsRedirects	boolean	Follow simple in-page script redirects (default true).
maxItems	integer	Safety cap on links traced per run (default 100).
maxConcurrency	integer	How many links are followed at the same time (default 4).
proxyConfiguration	object	Optional. Datacenter is enough for most links; choose a residential proxy and country when you need a specific market's destination.

Output

A live affiliate link — 4 hops, tracking IDs collected along the way

https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DdJcHZv (hops truncated for readability)

{
  "_input": "https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DdJcHZv",
  "_source": "S1-trace",
  "_scrapedAt": "2026-07-25T13:04:06Z",
  "startUrl": "https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DdJcHZv",
  "startHost": "s.click.aliexpress.com",
  "startDomain": "aliexpress.com",
  "finalUrl": "https://best.aliexpress.com/?UTABTest=aliabtest138740_46370&commercial_type=bestPage&hc_1214_tag=ByAffPage&aff_fcid=4c63c50c6b9746b798efc7ee9f1769ea-1784984646392-06593-_pz9sEiR&aff_fsk=_pz9sEiR&aff_platform=portals-promotion&sk=_pz9sEiR&aff_trace_key=4c63c50c6b9746b798efc7ee9f1769ea-1784984646392-06593-_pz9sEiR&terminal_id=c2a3f72b218749efbc471c4ff926c7dd&pageId=11404771&OLP=1133102008_f_group1&o_s_id=1133102008",
  "finalStatus": 200,
  "finalHost": "best.aliexpress.com",
  "merchantDomain": "aliexpress.com",
  "finalPageTitle": "MoboMarket - Belanja Online untuk Elektronik Populer, Mode, Rumah & Taman, Mainan & Olahraga, Mobil dan Lainnya.",
  "totalHops": 4,
  "redirectCount": 3,
  "stopReason": "final",
  "isDeadLink": false,
  "affiliateNetwork": "AliExpress Portals",
  "affiliateNetworkEvidence": "host:s.click.aliexpress.com@hop0",
  "affiliateIds": {
    "aff_short_key": "_pz9sEiR",
    "aff_fcid": "4c63c50c6b9746b798efc7ee9f1769ea-1784984646392-06593-_pz9sEiR",
    "aff_fsk": "_pz9sEiR",
    "aff_platform": "portals-promotion",
    "aff_trace_key": "4c63c50c6b9746b798efc7ee9f1769ea-1784984646392-06593-_pz9sEiR"
  },
  "affiliateIdSources": [
    { "param": "aff_short_key", "value": "_pz9sEiR", "hopIndex": 2, "host": "s.click.aliexpress.com" },
    { "param": "aff_trace_key", "value": "4c63c50c6b9746b798efc7ee9f1769ea-1784984646392-06593-_pz9sEiR", "hopIndex": 3, "host": "best.aliexpress.com" }
  ],
  "trackerDomains": ["s.click.aliexpress.com"],
  "isCloaked": false,
  "cloakingSignals": [],
  "redirectTypes": ["http-3xx", "http-3xx", "http-3xx", "final"],
  "totalElapsedMs": 578,
  "hops": [
    {
      "hopIndex": 0,
      "url": "https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DdJcHZv",
      "host": "s.click.aliexpress.com",
      "domain": "aliexpress.com",
      "method": "GET",
      "statusCode": 302,
      "redirectType": "http-3xx",
      "location": "https://best.aliexpress.com",
      "nextUrl": "https://best.aliexpress.com",
      "elapsedMs": 125,
      "contentType": null,
      "server": "Tengine",
      "via": null,
      "cookiesSet": [
        { "name": "xman_us_f", "value": "x_l=1&acs_rt=c2a3f72b218749efbc471c4ff926c7dd" },
        { "name": "XSRF-TOKEN", "value": "408f82d2-d1dc-4ac2-ab81-f8bdae2cd8d4" }
      ],
      "trackingParams": {},
      "browserProfile": "Chrome (desktop)"
    },
    {
      "hopIndex": 1,
      "url": "https://best.aliexpress.com",
      "host": "best.aliexpress.com",
      "domain": "aliexpress.com",
      "method": "GET",
      "statusCode": 302,
      "redirectType": "http-3xx",
      "location": "https://s.click.aliexpress.com/deep_link.htm?aff_short_key=_pz9sEiR&dl_target_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbest.aliexpress.com%2F%3Faff_platform%3Ddefault%26commercial_type%3DbestPage%26hc_1214_tag%3DByAffPage",
      "elapsedMs": 94,
      "server": "Tengine",
      "trackingParams": {},
      "browserProfile": "Chrome (desktop)"
    }
  ]
}

(the last two hops are omitted above — … 2 more)

A hidden in-page redirect (cloaking signal)

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fexample.com%2F — the second hop answers 200 OK but pushes the visitor onward with an automatic page refresh, which is caught and followed:

{
  "_input": "https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fexample.com%2F",
  "_source": "S1-trace",
  "_scrapedAt": "2026-07-25T13:04:07Z",
  "startUrl": "https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fexample.com%2F",
  "startHost": "l.facebook.com",
  "startDomain": "facebook.com",
  "finalUrl": "https://www.facebook.com/flx/warn/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fexample.com%2F&h=AUCLpUtzNyqOuafKkRCFvb-AEwTJZ2W3EEiTn1Mm9sTJfsMqd8LU-SyBcI6xgjhXvFVJAfaC5OeorfWLM-2q3FL5-C10PrjKml3JteDi4tDFdS6eD9LfHVo&_fb_noscript=1",
  "finalStatus": 200,
  "finalHost": "www.facebook.com",
  "merchantDomain": "facebook.com",
  "finalPageTitle": "Leaving Facebook",
  "totalHops": 3,
  "redirectCount": 2,
  "stopReason": "final",
  "isDeadLink": false,
  "affiliateNetwork": "Generic link shortener",
  "affiliateNetworkEvidence": "host:l.facebook.com@hop0",
  "affiliateIds": {},
  "trackerDomains": ["l.facebook.com"],
  "isCloaked": true,
  "cloakingSignals": ["meta_refresh_hop"],
  "redirectTypes": ["http-3xx", "meta-refresh", "final"],
  "totalElapsedMs": 890,
  "hops": [
    { "hopIndex": 0, "statusCode": 302, "redirectType": "http-3xx", "host": "l.facebook.com", "elapsedMs": 250, "cookiesSet": [{ "name": "datr", "value": "R7Rkat8rU_1dhMVGjfKLxY6I" }] },
    { "hopIndex": 1, "statusCode": 200, "redirectType": "meta-refresh", "host": "www.facebook.com", "elapsedMs": 344, "cookiesSet": [] },
    { "hopIndex": 2, "statusCode": 200, "redirectType": "final", "host": "www.facebook.com", "elapsedMs": 296, "cookiesSet": [{ "name": "noscript", "value": "1" }], "pageTitle": "Leaving Facebook" }
  ]
}

A shortener that shows a preview page instead of forwarding

https://bit.ly/3xyzabc — the destination is read off the preview page, then followed; the destination itself turns out to be gone:

{
  "_input": "https://bit.ly/3xyzabc",
  "_source": "S1-trace",
  "_scrapedAt": "2026-07-25T13:04:08Z",
  "startUrl": "https://bit.ly/3xyzabc",
  "finalUrl": "https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1h58cRaUSsDuzotaMOSMsfMkwGTwdpFBR?usp=sharing",
  "finalStatus": 404,
  "finalHost": "drive.google.com",
  "merchantDomain": "google.com",
  "finalPageTitle": "Error 404 (Tidak Ditemukan)!!1",
  "totalHops": 2,
  "redirectCount": 1,
  "stopReason": "final",
  "isDeadLink": true,
  "affiliateNetwork": "Generic link shortener",
  "affiliateNetworkEvidence": "host:bit.ly@hop0",
  "affiliateIds": {},
  "trackerDomains": ["bit.ly"],
  "isCloaked": true,
  "cloakingSignals": ["interstitial_page_hop"],
  "redirectTypes": ["interstitial-link", "final"],
  "totalElapsedMs": 1590,
  "hops": [
    {
      "hopIndex": 0,
      "url": "https://bit.ly/3xyzabc",
      "host": "bit.ly",
      "statusCode": 200,
      "redirectType": "interstitial-link",
      "nextUrl": "https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1h58cRaUSsDuzotaMOSMsfMkwGTwdpFBR?usp=sharing",
      "elapsedMs": 389,
      "server": "nginx",
      "via": "1.1 google",
      "cookiesSet": [{ "name": "_bit", "value": "q6pd46-aa547ab7874fd7aea7-00k" }],
      "browserProfile": "Chrome (desktop)"
    },
    { "hopIndex": 1, "statusCode": 404, "redirectType": "final", "host": "drive.google.com", "elapsedMs": 375, "pageTitle": "Error 404 (Tidak Ditemukan)!!1" }
  ]
}

A dead link — reported, never hidden

https://bit.ly/zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

{
  "_input": "https://bit.ly/zzzzzzzzzzzzzz",
  "_source": "S1-trace",
  "_scrapedAt": "2026-07-25T13:04:08Z",
  "startUrl": "https://bit.ly/zzzzzzzzzzzzzz",
  "finalUrl": "https://bit.ly/zzzzzzzzzzzzzz",
  "finalStatus": 410,
  "finalHost": "bit.ly",
  "merchantDomain": "bit.ly",
  "finalPageTitle": "Bitly | Link Deactivated | 410",
  "totalHops": 1,
  "redirectCount": 0,
  "stopReason": "final",
  "isDeadLink": true,
  "affiliateNetwork": "Generic link shortener",
  "affiliateNetworkEvidence": "host:bit.ly@hop0",
  "affiliateIds": {},
  "trackerDomains": [],
  "isCloaked": false,
  "cloakingSignals": [],
  "redirectTypes": ["final"],
  "totalElapsedMs": 296,
  "hops": [
    {
      "hopIndex": 0,
      "url": "https://bit.ly/zzzzzzzzzzzzzz",
      "host": "bit.ly",
      "statusCode": 410,
      "redirectType": "final",
      "elapsedMs": 296,
      "contentType": "text/html",
      "server": "nginx",
      "via": "1.1 google",
      "cookiesSet": [],
      "trackingParams": {},
      "pageTitle": "Bitly | Link Deactivated | 410"
    }
  ]
}

Summary fields

Field	Type	Description
_input / _scrapedAt / _source	string	The link you submitted, when it was checked (UTC), and which method produced the record.
startUrl / startHost / startDomain	string	The submitted link and the site it starts on.
finalUrl / finalHost / merchantDomain	string	Where the chain ended up, and the destination's main domain.
finalStatus	integer	Status code of the last stop (200 alive, 404 / 410 dead, and so on).
finalPageTitle	string	Title of the destination page when it is a readable page.
totalHops / redirectCount	integer	Number of stops, and how many of them were redirects.
stopReason	string	final, max_hops, loop, timeout or error.
isDeadLink	boolean	true when the chain ends on an error status.
affiliateNetwork	string	The network behind the link, Generic link shortener, or null when it cannot be proven.
affiliateNetworkEvidence	string	Exactly what proved it (which host or which tracking value, and at which hop).
affiliateIds	object	Every tracking ID found anywhere in the chain, as name → value.
affiliateIdSources	array	The same IDs with the hop number and host where each first appeared.
trackerDomains	array	The intermediate companies the visitor passes through before the destination.
isCloaked / cloakingSignals	boolean / array	Whether the chain hides its destination, and why: meta_refresh_hop, js_redirect_hop, interstitial_page_hop, network_domain_mismatch, unexpected_cross_domain.
redirectTypes	array	The kind of each stop, in order.
totalElapsedMs	integer	Total time the whole chain took.
hops	array	Full detail of every stop — see below.

Hop fields

Field	Type	Description
hopIndex	integer	Position in the chain, starting at 0.
url / host / domain	string	The address requested at this stop.
method	string	Always GET.
statusCode	integer	The status returned at this stop.
redirectType	string	http-3xx (normal redirect), meta-refresh (automatic page refresh), js-location (in-page script), interstitial-link (destination read off a preview page), final (no further redirect), or error.
location / nextUrl	string	The forwarding address exactly as given, and the full address actually used next.
elapsedMs	integer	Response time for this stop.
contentType / server / via	string	Response details of the stop, as sent.
cookiesSet	array	Cookies dropped at this stop (name and value) — the tracking companies' own attribution cookies.
trackingParams	object	Tracking values present in this stop's address.
browserProfile	string	Which browser identity was used for this stop.
pageTitle	string	Title of the page, on the final stop.
error / errorDetail	string	Present only when this stop could not be reached.

If a link cannot be processed at all, the actor emits {_input, _source, _scrapedAt, _error, _errorDetail} instead of silently skipping it. A dead link is not an error — it is a normal record with isDeadLink: true.

Notes & limits

• Some destinations answer with a verification page instead of the real landing page, especially large retailers. The actor reports the address it reached and the status it got, rather than pretending it arrived — switch on a residential proxy in the Proxy section if you need the real page.
• A few shorteners occasionally show a preview page instead of forwarding. The actor retries with a different browser identity and, failing that, reads the destination link off the preview page; if it still cannot resolve it, the record carries a _warning so you know the destination is unconfirmed.
• Destinations can differ by country and by device. Set the proxy country and the browser identity to match the audience you are auditing.
• Links that bounce through a page requiring a full browser (a click-to-continue button) end on that page — that is reported honestly as the last stop reached.
• This actor only inspects public link infrastructure. It collects no personal data.