A Windows Internet Shortcut: a few lines of text starting with [InternetShortcut] and a URL= line holding a web address. Windows opens that address in the browser when the file is double-clicked. You can also open it in Notepad (or TextEdit on a Mac) and copy the address from the URL= line.

How do I open a .webloc file on Windows?

Drop it on this page. A .webloc is a small Apple property list holding one web address, sometimes in a binary form a text editor cannot read; this page reads both kinds and shows the address.

Can a .url file be dangerous?

The file itself holds no program, but it can send you to a fake login page, and a crafted one can point at a file on a remote server. That is why this page shows the real site name, warns about lookalike addresses, and only offers web and email links. If a shortcut arrived in an email you did not expect, do not open it, and never enter a password on a page a shortcut opened.

Is the shortcut uploaded?

No. It is read by this browser tab on your own device, and nothing about it is sent anywhere. Opening the link goes straight to that site, not through this one.

Stays on your computer How this works

Open a URL file: see where a .url, .webloc or .desktop shortcut goes

A .url file from Windows, a .webloc from a Mac or a .desktop file from Linux is a shortcut to a web address, not a page. Drop one here on any computer or phone to see the address, check it looks safe, and open it. The file is read in your browser and is not uploaded.

Drop a .url file here, or click to choose oneIt is opened by your browser, on this computer. Nothing is uploaded.

About internet shortcut files

Drag a link out of a browser onto the desktop and the computer saves it as a little file: Windows makes a .url file (an "Internet Shortcut"), a Mac makes a .webloc, and Linux desktops use .desktop files. Double-clicked on the same kind of computer, it opens the page. But send it to someone with a different computer, a phone or a Chromebook, or find it in a backup, and it does nothing: a Mac does not know what to do with a .url, and Windows cannot open a .webloc. There is no page inside, only the address.

This page reads the shortcut on any device and shows the address it holds, with the site's name on its own so you can see where it really goes. It points out the tricks used in phishing shortcuts - a lookalike site name, a fake name in front of an @, a bare number instead of a site - and it only makes a link for ordinary web and email addresses. A shortcut that runs a program or code is shown as text and never opened. It is free to use, with no account and no upload limit, and it runs entirely in your browser: nothing is uploaded, and while the page stays open, a feature you have already used keeps working offline.

What you can do

Open a Windows .url or .website shortcut on a Mac, iPhone, Android phone or Chromebook
Open a Mac .webloc or .inetloc on Windows, in XML or binary form
Read a Linux .desktop file: the link it opens or the command it runs
See the site's name on its own, with warnings for lookalike or suspicious addresses
Open the page, or copy the address to paste wherever you like

How to open a .url file on a Mac or phone

Drop the .url, .webloc or .desktop file on the box above, or click the box and choose it.
Check the site name it shows is the one you expect.
Choose Open, or copy the address and paste it into your browser.

Questions

What is a .url file?: A Windows Internet Shortcut: a few lines of text starting with [InternetShortcut] and a URL= line holding a web address. Windows opens that address in the browser when the file is double-clicked. You can also open it in Notepad (or TextEdit on a Mac) and copy the address from the URL= line.
How do I open a .webloc file on Windows?: Drop it on this page. A .webloc is a small Apple property list holding one web address, sometimes in a binary form a text editor cannot read; this page reads both kinds and shows the address.
Can a .url file be dangerous?: The file itself holds no program, but it can send you to a fake login page, and a crafted one can point at a file on a remote server. That is why this page shows the real site name, warns about lookalike addresses, and only offers web and email links. If a shortcut arrived in an email you did not expect, do not open it, and never enter a password on a page a shortcut opened.
Is the shortcut uploaded?: No. It is read by this browser tab on your own device, and nothing about it is sent anywhere. Opening the link goes straight to that site, not through this one.

Google Drive leaves shortcuts of its own, .gdoc, .gsheet and .gslides files, which the Google Drive shortcut page opens.