Is buff.ly safe?
http://buff.ly/
Coveragestrong3 of 4 applicable core capabilities
buff.ly is Buffer's official URL shortener that redirects to buffer.com
buff.ly is the legitimate URL shortening service operated by Buffer, a well-known social media management platform. The domain redirects visitors to buffer.com where users can access the service's free and paid subscription plans. While one antivirus engine flagged the domain, this is typical for URL shorteners that can be abused by malicious actors to mask destinations.
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Where this site sits
- Dangerous1–20
- High Risk21–44
- Moderate Risk45–69
- Low Risk70–84
- Safe85–100
The score combines saved evidence strength and analysis quality. Coverage is reported separately.
01 · Investigation Brief
Investigation Brief
buff.ly is the legitimate URL shortening service operated by Buffer, a well-known social media management platform. The domain redirects visitors to buffer.com where users can access the service's free and paid subscription plans. While one antivirus engine flagged the domain, this is typical for URL shorteners that can be abused by malicious actors to mask destinations.
Technical findings and domain characteristics
The domain buff.ly is 5244 days old and functions as a redirect service that sends visitors from buff.ly to buffer.com.
One antivirus engine reported an adverse result, which is consistent with URL shorteners being frequently flagged due to their potential for abuse by malicious actors.
Service purpose and visitor flow
The site displays Buffer branding and redirects to buffer.com, where visitors can access the social media management platform's features including a free plan and paid subscription tiers.
Why the score is 82
The page automatically sent the browser to an unrelated external site. Coverage remains separate so missing sources cannot be mistaken for clean results.
02 · Security Evidence
Security evidence
Antivirus Engines
1/ 91
detectionsSaved result - stale
1 engine flagged this URL
Every saved adverse engine is listed below. The full provider matrix remains available for audit.
- Malicious
- 1
- Suspicious
- 0
- Total
- 91
| Engine | Finding |
|---|---|
| Chong Lua DaoMalicious | malicious |
All 91 engine results
- Chong Lua Dao - malicious - Malicious
- 0xSI_f33d - unrated - Clean
- Abusix - clean - Clean
- Acronis - clean - Clean
- ADMINUSLabs - clean - Clean
- AILabs (MONITORAPP) - clean - Clean
- AlienVault - clean - Clean
- alphaMountain.ai - clean - Clean
- AlphaSOC - unrated - Clean
- Antiy-AVL - clean - Clean
- ArcSight Threat Intelligence - unrated - Clean
- AutoShun - unrated - Clean
- Bfore.Ai PreCrime - unrated - Clean
- BitDefender - clean - Clean
- Bkav - unrated - Clean
- BlockList - clean - Clean
- Blueliv - clean - Clean
- Certego - clean - Clean
- ChainPatrol - unrated - Clean
- CINS Army - clean - Clean
- Cluster25 - unrated - Clean
- CRDF - clean - Clean
- Criminal IP - clean - Clean
- CSIS Security Group - unrated - Clean
- CTX AI - clean - Clean
- Cyan - unrated - Clean
- Cyble - clean - Clean
- CyRadar - clean - Clean
- desenmascara.me - clean - Clean
- DNS8 - unrated - Clean
- Dr.Web - clean - Clean
- EmergingThreats - clean - Clean
- Emsisoft - clean - Clean
- Ermes - unrated - Clean
- ESET - clean - Clean
- ESTsecurity - clean - Clean
- Forcepoint ThreatSeeker - clean - Clean
- Fortinet - clean - Clean
- Fortra - unrated - Clean
- G-Data - clean - Clean
- GCP Abuse Intelligence - unrated - Clean
- Google Safe Browsing - clean - Clean
- GreenSnow - clean - Clean
- GreyNoise - unrated - Clean
- Gridinsoft - unrated - Clean
- Guardpot - unrated - Clean
- Heimdal Security - clean - Clean
- Hunt.io Intelligence - unrated - Clean
- IPsum - clean - Clean
- Juniper Networks - clean - Clean
- K7AntiVirus - unrated - Clean
- Kaspersky - clean - Clean
- LevelBlue - clean - Clean
- Lionic - clean - Clean
- Lumu - unrated - Clean
- Malwared - clean - Clean
- MalwarePatrol - clean - Clean
- MalwareURL - unrated - Clean
- Mimecast - unrated - Clean
- Netcraft - unrated - Clean
- OpenPhish - clean - Clean
- PhishFort - unrated - Clean
- Phishtank - clean - Clean
- PREBYTES - clean - Clean
- PrecisionSec - unrated - Clean
- Quick Heal - clean - Clean
- Quttera - clean - Clean
- Rising - clean - Clean
- SafeToOpen - unrated - Clean
- Sangfor - clean - Clean
- Sansec eComscan - unrated - Clean
- Scantitan - clean - Clean
- SCUMWARE.org - clean - Clean
- Seclookup - clean - Clean
- Snort IP sample list - unrated - Clean
- SOCRadar - unrated - Clean
- Sophos - clean - Clean
- StopForumSpam - clean - Clean
- Sucuri SiteCheck - clean - Clean
- ThreatHive - clean - Clean
- URLhaus - clean - Clean
- URLQuery - clean - Clean
- Viettel Threat Intelligence - clean - Clean
- VIPRE - clean - Clean
- ViriBack - clean - Clean
- VX Vault - clean - Clean
- Webroot - clean - Clean
- Xcitium Verdict Cloud - unrated - Clean
- Yandex Safebrowsing - clean - Clean
- ZeroCERT - clean - Clean
- ZeroFox - unrated - Clean
Security Scans
Checked against the browser threat feeds available to this scan — no hit.
What we observed
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Visual context from the captured page
Buffer
What the captured page showed
1 observation- 01
Buffer
03 · Investigation Story
Investigation story
What the site claims
Buffer: Social media management for everyone
What we observed
The page content was captured and checked alongside 91 antivirus results.
What independent research found
2 external findings were saved and compared with the page evidence.
What remains unverified
1 of the 4 applicable core capabilities did not complete, so those gaps remain visible in the coverage ledger.
What kind of site and risk is this?
Threat category
No threat category confirmed
Service and business model
Saas
Observed behavior
Evidence behind this classification
- 011 independent antivirus family reported an adverse result. This comes from a saved antivirus observation rather than a new submission, so treat the detection as real but confirm the timing.
- 02Redirects to buffer.com, the official Buffer platform
- 03Domain is over 14 years old, indicating established legitimate operation
Web research findings
Independent findings for buff.ly, including public complaints, named review sources, registration records, and look-alike-domain evidence. A missing result is shown as unverified, never converted into a clean bill of health.
- Buffer Help Centeropen
"Link shorteners are set individually for each social channel, meaning you might use buff.ly for some channels or choose to have No Shortening enabled for others."
- Bufferopen
"Buff.ly by Buffer: Buffer is an all-in-one social media management tool that helps you schedule, publish, and analyze your social content; any links that you drop directly into the Buffer composer when scheduling posts are automatically shortened and polished up."
Reputation Sources
How this domain rates across independent threat-intelligence and blocklist providers.
04 · Domain & Infrastructure
Domain & infrastructure
The plumbing behind the site — who registered it, how it’s encrypted, where it’s hosted, and where it links out. A valid certificate or a calm server doesn’t mean the business is honest — scam sites pass these checks too. Use this to corroborate the verdict, not to overturn it.
Infrastructure map
How the saved page connected to the wider web.
- Domainbuff.ly
- Redirects tobuffer.com
- Hosted byCloudflare, Inc.
- Referencescdn-cookieyes.com · dubcdn.com
Domain Timeline
- Apr 28, 2012Domain registered
First appeared in WHOIS records — 14 years old today.
- Sep 7, 2026Saved security review — Reviewed — inconclusive
The completed checks from this saved scan are detailed above.
buff.ly has operated for years with no threat signals in this review — a long, stable track record, though it is never a guarantee on its own.
Contact Verification
Saved contact details can help identify the operator. Their presence supports traceability; it does not prove the business is trustworthy.
- No direct contact email found on the captured page.
Domain & Encryption
Redirect Chain
- 1308http://buff.ly/
- 2302https://buff.ly/
- 3200https://buffer.com/cross-domain
Server Reputation
Referenced Domains
Outbound domains this page links to or loads resources from. Each links to its own security scan.
05 · Evidence Ledger
Evidence ledger
- Antiviruspartial
- Browser threat feedcomplete
- Page contentcomplete
- Analysiscomplete
- Visual evidencecomplete
The conclusion is supported by the evidence saved with this report.
Technical threat
suspiciousMalware, phishing, credential theft and hostile infrastructure.
Additional evidence review
Operator / customer risk
suspiciousComplaints, withdrawals, business conduct and commercial traps.
Additional evidence review
Source coverage and freshness
Status shows whether usable evidence was saved; finding shows what that evidence observed.
| Source | Result | Completion | Finding | Freshness |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antivirus | 1 of 91 engines flagged | Limited | Adverse | stale fallback · Sep 7, 2026 |
| Browser protection | No browser threat-list match | Completed | No adverse finding | Not available |
| Page content | Page fetched · HTTP 200 | Completed | No adverse finding | Not available |
| Visual evidence | 1 visible observation saved with the page capture | Completed | No adverse finding | Not available |
| Independent research | 2 independent findings were saved | Completed | No adverse finding | Not available |
- Antivirus
- Result1 of 91 engines flagged
- CompletionLimited
- FindingAdverse
- Freshnessstale fallback · Sep 7, 2026
- Browser protection
- ResultNo browser threat-list match
- CompletionCompleted
- FindingNo adverse finding
- FreshnessNot available
- Page content
- ResultPage fetched · HTTP 200
- CompletionCompleted
- FindingNo adverse finding
- FreshnessNot available
- Visual evidence
- Result1 visible observation saved with the page capture
- CompletionCompleted
- FindingNo adverse finding
- FreshnessNot available
- Independent research
- Result2 independent findings were saved
- CompletionCompleted
- FindingNo adverse finding
- FreshnessNot available
07 · Safety FAQ
Safety FAQ
Common questions, answered directly from the scan data above — so the answers reflect the saved verdict and evidence in this report.
Is buff.ly a scam or is it safe?
Is buff.ly safe to use?
Has buff.ly been flagged by antivirus engines?
Is buff.ly on any phishing or malware blacklists?
How old is the buff.ly domain?
Does buff.ly have a valid SSL certificate?
Where is buff.ly hosted?
How often is the buff.ly report updated?
08 · Final Verdict
Final verdict
buff.ly is Buffer's official URL shortener that redirects to buffer.com
buff.ly is the legitimate URL shortening service operated by Buffer, a well-known social media management platform. The domain redirects visitors to buffer.com where users can access the service's free and paid subscription plans. While one antivirus engine flagged the domain, this is typical for URL shorteners that can be abused by malicious actors to mask destinations.
09 · Community