Tracking parameters are extra bits added to a URL to measure where a click came from, which ad was shown, or which person received a link. Common examples include utm_source, fbclid, gclid, _ga, mc_eid and ref. As of April 2026, stripping them usually does not break the page you are visiting, but it can reduce cross-site analytics, referral tagging and share-link clutter. The practical rule is simple: keep the core page address, remove the marketing and identifier fields, and test once if the link is unusual.
What tracking parameters are, and why they exist
A URL has a main address, then sometimes a query string starting with ?. Everything after that can include key-value pairs separated by &. In https://example.com/article?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email, the page is /article; the rest is tracking metadata.
As reported by Google in its Campaign URL Builder documentation in 2024, UTM parameters were designed for campaign measurement: source, medium, campaign, term and content. As reported by Meta in its Business Help documentation in 2025, fbclid is a click identifier appended to links from Meta surfaces. As reported by Google Ads Help in 2025, gclid is used for ad click measurement and attribution. Mail platforms also add identifiers such as mc_eid for Mailchimp email tracking.
A practical example: if a friend shares https://shop.example/product/42?utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=spring&fbclid=XYZ123, the useful part is almost always https://shop.example/product/42. You remove four parameters and keep the same product page.
Common tracking parameters and what they belong to
As of April 2026, there is no single universal list because vendors invent new parameters frequently. The table below covers the ones most people actually see.
| Parameter | Common meaning | Typically associated with | Usually safe to remove? |
|---|---|---|---|
utm_source | Traffic source | Google Analytics / general campaign tagging | Yes |
utm_medium | Marketing medium | Google Analytics / general campaign tagging | Yes |
utm_campaign | Campaign name | Google Analytics / general campaign tagging | Yes |
utm_term | Paid keyword | Google Analytics / ad campaign tagging | Yes |
utm_content | Creative or A/B variant | Google Analytics / campaign tagging | Yes |
fbclid | Facebook/Instagram click ID | Meta ads and attribution | Yes |
gclid | Google click ID | Google Ads | Usually yes |
dclid | Display click ID | Google marketing stack | Usually yes |
msclkid | Microsoft click ID | Microsoft Ads | Usually yes |
_ga | Google Analytics linker value | Google Analytics | Usually yes |
mc_eid | Recipient or campaign identifier | Mailchimp | Yes |
igshid | Instagram share identifier | Yes | |
si | Share/session identifier on some platforms | Platform-specific | Usually yes, but test |
ref | Referral code or source | Retailers, affiliate/referral systems, apps | Sometimes |
ref_src | Referral source | Social platforms, apps | Usually yes |
source | Traffic source | Generic analytics tagging | Usually yes |
campaign_id | Campaign identifier | Ad tech / CRM systems | Usually yes |
The main exception is ref. On one site it may be harmless source tagging; on another it may trigger a discount, referral credit or a specific storefront. If you strip ref=creatorname from a checkout link, the page may still load, but the creator credit can disappear.
How to remove tracking parameters manually
Manual removal is fastest when you only need to clean one or two links. You do not need a special tool.
- Copy the full URL.
- Find the
?character. - Decide whether the entire query string is tracking, or whether some fields are needed.
- Delete the tracking fields and anything after them, or remove specific fields separated by
&. - Open the cleaned link once to confirm the page still works.
Example 1:
- Original:
https://news.example/story?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=launch - Cleaned:
https://news.example/story
Example 2:
- Original:
https://store.example/item?id=871&gclid=AbC123&utm_source=google - Better cleaned:
https://store.example/item?id=871
That second example matters because id=871 is probably required to load the correct product, while gclid and utm_source are not. A good rule is that business logic parameters like id, p, page, lang or q often matter; marketing labels usually do not.
Path-based tracking is different. If a link is https://example.com/ref/jane/product/42, the tracking marker is in the path, not the query string. Manual stripping is riskier there because the site may route links differently. Query-string tracking is safer to remove than path-based tracking.
Use a browser extension when you want this done automatically
If you clean links several times a day, an extension is easier than editing URLs by hand. ClearURLs is one of the better-known options in this category. As reported by the ClearURLs project documentation in 2026, it removes known tracking elements from URLs using rule lists and can also block some hyperlink auditing behaviour.
ClearURLs versus manual stripping is a speed-versus-control trade-off. Manual stripping gives you 100% visibility and is better when you suspect a parameter might affect the page. ClearURLs is better when you process 20 links a day and want defaults that handle the obvious cases automatically.
Points to check before installing any URL-cleaning extension:
- Funding and governance: As of April 2026, ClearURLs is an open-source project rather than a venture-backed commercial browser company.
- Permission scope: URL cleaners usually need access to pages you visit to rewrite requests.
- Maintenance: stale rule sets are less useful because ad-tech parameters change.
- Browser support: rules and permissions can behave slightly differently across Firefox and Chromium-based browsers.
Numeric scenario: if you open 30 newsletter and social links a day and even half of them carry 3 to 5 marketing parameters, an automatic cleaner can remove 45 to 75 tracking fields daily with no manual effort. That does not make you anonymous. It does reduce routine metadata leakage.
Use NoTrackr’s free tool for one-off link cleaning and safer sharing
If you want a simple one-off cleaner without installing anything, use our free tool: https://tool.notrackr.com/. It is useful when you are about to share a link in chat, email or a forum and want to remove obvious junk before it leaves your clipboard.
This approach is better than manual editing when the link is long enough to wrap across lines or contains 10-plus parameters. A typical retailer or newsletter URL can easily exceed 300 characters once campaign labels, click IDs and internal routing fields are attached. Pasting that into a cleaner is faster than trying to eyeball every &.
It is also a share-link hygiene habit. If you send five tracked links a week to friends or co-workers, that is roughly 250 tracked shares a year. Cleaning them before sharing is a low-effort way to stop passing along marketing metadata that other people did not ask for.
What stripping does not do
Removing parameters is useful, but it is not a full privacy system. As of April 2026, sites can still learn things from your IP address, user agent, logged-in account, first-party cookies, link decoration stored before cleanup, and server-side redirects.
It also will not defeat every attribution method. As reported by Mozilla in 2023 when announcing query parameter stripping in Firefox, the feature targets known tracking parameters, not every possible identifier. Browsers and extensions work from maintained lists and heuristics. They catch the common stuff, not magic.
There are also cases where removing parameters changes behaviour:
- Checkout or referral links may lose a coupon or partner credit.
- Language or region parameters may alter the page version.
- Search result URLs may need
q=or similar fields to show the intended result. - Some sign-in, password reset or invite links break if you strip token parameters.
A safe practical split is this: remove marketing identifiers from ordinary articles, product pages and social shares; do not strip tokens from login, payment, invite or password-reset links unless you know exactly what they do.
What to do next
Start with the lowest-effort habit. For one-off links, paste them into https://tool.notrackr.com/ before sharing. For frequent browsing, consider ClearURLs or your browser’s built-in query stripping if available. For sensitive links, clean manually so you keep required fields like id or q and remove only the obvious trackers such as utm_*, fbclid, gclid, _ga and mc_eid.