Create your own Censorship-Resistant Links for X and More!

Are you tired of social platforms blocking important links? Whether you’re trying to share information or simply want to keep control over your links, I’ve got a solution for you. In this guide, I'll show you how to easily create a censorship-resistant redirect link that you can use anywhere — without needing to write a single line of code!

What’s the Problem?

Platforms like X (formerly Twitter) can block or censor links to certain sites like they recently did to Signal.me, even when those links contain important information. A link shortener or redirect may work in the short term, but sites like Bitly and TinyURL create new single points of failure when platforms block them instead. What we want to do instead is leverage unique domains, like one you may already own for your blog or business. You could also register one for free! We will then deploy a simple, free redirect function to Netlify (a free cloud hosting provider) that will redirect to your intended page for sharing on social media. This way we create an unwinnable game of whack-a-mole for sharing important information.

What You’ll Need

• A custom domain — You can get one for free (I'll share how in a moment).
• A Netlify account — Don't worry, it's free and easy to sign up!
• A GitHub account — again, free and easy to set up.
• No technical experience required — Everything is set up for you!

Step 1: Get a Custom Domain (Optional, But Recommended)

While you can use the default Netlify subdomain, I recommend registering a custom domain. Having your own domain makes the link more trustworthy and as we discussed it will be less likely to be blocked. You can get a free domain from services like:

• No-IP – Free subdomains (yourname.ddns.net) with CNAME support.
  • ⚠️ Requires renewal every 30 days for free accounts.
• EU.org – Free .eu.org domains with full DNS management.
  • ⚠️ Requires manual approval, which can take time.

You can follow the instructions on these sites to get a free domain.

A professional domain can only cost you a couple of bucks a year though – .me and .info domains, for example, can be had for less than $5 annually! Here's a non-exhaustive list of places to look:

• Namecheap – Frequently offers $1 .xyz or .online domains.
• Cloudflare Registrar – No markup, sells at wholesale prices.
• Porkbun – Regularly has $1–$3 domain deals.

Registration is a quick process, and there are plenty of tutorials available on these sites if you need help buying your first domain.

Step 2: Deploy to Netlify

This part is easy! You don’t need to worry about setting anything up yourself — everything is already configured. Just follow these steps:

• Go to the FreeLink repository on GitHub.
• Click the "Deploy to Netlify" button:

• If you haven’t already, sign up for a free Netlify account.
• Click "Connect to GitHub" and sign in with your GitHub account (or use one of their other providers)
• When prompted, paste in the URL you would like your domain to redirect to into the form:

• Click "Save & Deploy" and wait a few moments for Netlify to set everything up.

Once deployed, you’ll have your own censorship-resistant redirect link that you can use anywhere!

On a successful deployment, you can click "Open production deploy" to try your new redirect page out!

Step 4: Add your Custom Domain

Once the application is deployed,

• Click "Site Overview" in the side bar
• Scroll to "Set up your Site" as shown:

• Click "Buy a new domain" or "set up a domain you already own". If you registered a new domain, the registrar should provide you with the necessary DNS settings. Follow Netlify's on-screen instructions to connect your domain.

Once connected, your redirect link will use your custom domain instead of the default Netlify subdomain.

Conclusion

That’s it! You’ve now created your own censorship-resistant link using Netlify, and you didn’t need to write any code. Simply deploy the project, set your redirect URL, and you’re ready to go.

With your own custom domain you’ll be able to share links that can’t be easily censored. Feel free to share your new link with friends, family, or the community!