If you’re here, you may have seen an unexpected charge from Bitly in April. We want to explain what happened, what we’ve done to fix it, and what to expect next.
What happened
On April 5, 2025 a billing error caused some Core plan customers to be charged ahead of their scheduled renewal date. As soon as we discovered the mistake, we began troubleshooting and started work on getting refunds out as quickly as possible
Here’s a breakdown of what you might have seen in your billing activity:
- April 5-6: An unexpected charge was processed
- April 15-17: We issued refunds to affected customers
- April 15: Some customers saw a second charge
- April 15-16: We initiated the second refund
What you should know
- Refunds are already in process. If you were affected, any incorrect charges have already been refunded.
- There was no security breach. This was a billing error; your account and payment information are secure.
- Yes, emails from “Jason at Bitly” are legitimate. If you received emails from “Jason at Bitly” those are valid emails and part of our billing communications system. Any repeat emails you’ve received that are related to this billing issue may be associated with a failed payment and the card we had on file for you.
- Your refund may not exactly match the charge. For customers in non-US countries, differing exchange rates at the point of charge and refund prevented us from accurately balancing your account. If this impacted you, you can reach out to Bitly Support directly for resolution.
- Your plan may have been temporarily downgraded. Due to unexpected errors related to plans and payment failures, some users were downgraded to a free plan. If this happened to you, your Core plan was reinstated on April 29th
- You can view your billing information anytime. To view your subscription information, payment details, and subscription renewal information, go to Settings and select the Billing and Usage section in the Bitly app.
- Need an invoice to reflect these changes? If you require documentation to reflect charges or refunds on your account, our customer support team can help. Contact Bitly Support via our chatbot in the lower right corner and once assigned to a customer support agent, you can receive your requested documentation via a support ticket
We appreciate your understanding
We know unexpected charges are frustrating and we’re genuinely sorry this happened. This isn’t the experience we want for any of our customers. We’ve investigated this issue and have solved the underlying issue in our billing system. Everything is resolved and there is no action required on your part.
If you still have questions or need help, search our Help Center. If you can’t find what you are looking for, please contact Bitly Support, available via chat or ticket in the lower right hand corner of the Help Center.
Thanks again for being a part of the Bitly community.