The Hidden Risks of URL-Shortening in Scientific Review
URL-shortening services do more than just compress URLs; they also facilitate the tracking of clicks and the collection of user data.
In this post, I explore the unintended risks posed by URL-shortening services in the context of scientific peer review. While these services offer convenience, their metadata tracking capabilities can compromise the anonymity of reviewers, which is critical to the blind review process. I also propose practical steps for safeguarding reviewer privacy.
It was an ordinary evening in my role as a peer reviewer, sifting through yet another research manuscript. The paper was well-organized, the ideas were thoughtful, and everything appeared in order. While evaluating one of the key arguments, I came across a supporting reference. Its citation was a shortened URL.
Curious to verify the source, I clicked the link. The page loaded smoothly, but I felt a bit uneasy. It was not the content of the link that troubled me, but something about the link itself that caught my attention. The original link was not that long. So, why did the author(s) go out of their way to shorten it? As the unease settled in, I began to wonder: What just happened when I clicked the link? Had I unintentionally shared some data about myself? At that moment, what seemed like a harmless detail became something more troubling: a potential breach of reviewer anonymity.
