Mailto Link Shortener & Generator
What is a mailto link?
A mailto link is a link that, when clicked by a user, will open the user's email client and fill the destination field with an email address you provide.
How to track & shorten mailto links
Linkly lets you shorten and track mailto links.
Mailto links are links of the form:
When these links are clicked, they open the user’s email client.
You can specify the:
- ‘To’ email address
- CC and BCC recipients
- Subject
- Body text
How to shorten a mailto link
Login to Linkly and click Create New Link.
Type mailto: in the Destination field.
Linkly will open up extra fields for the To address, CC, BCC, subject, and body — no need to hand-craft mailto syntax.

Click Save Link.
Linkly will give you a shortened tracking link that, when clicked, will open the user's email client.
How a mailto link is constructed
Under the hood, a mailto link follows this format:
mailto:address@example.com?cc=second@example.com&bcc=third@example.com&subject=Hello&body=Hi%20there
The pieces:
mailto:— the URI scheme. Always required.address@example.com— the primary "To" recipient. Required.?cc=...— comma-separated list of CC addresses.&bcc=...— comma-separated BCC addresses.&subject=...— pre-filled subject line. URL-encode spaces as%20.&body=...— pre-filled body. URL-encode newlines as%0A.
Linkly's mailto generator handles all of this encoding for you — just fill in the fields and it produces a correctly-formatted mailto link.
Frequently asked questions about mailto links
Can I include body text in a mailto link?
Yes. When you create a mailto in Linkly, it will automatically open up a body field.
Can I add CC and BCC recipients to a mailto link?
Yes. Linkly's mailto link generator now supports CC and BCC fields. Fill them in when you create the link and Linkly will encode them into the mailto URL for you.
How do I make a mailto link with multiple recipients?
Add additional recipients to the CC or BCC fields, separated by commas. Linkly URL-encodes them correctly into the final mailto link so every recipient appears in the user's email client when the link is clicked.
Is there a limit to how long a mailto body can be?
Yes. Bodies cannot be more than a few lines. Different browsers behave differently, but most will begin to strip URLs longer than 1000 characters.
Linkly applies a hard limit at 2000 characters, including email addresses and subject lines, and you should test long messages carefully.
Can I track whether emails were sent?
Linkly cannot track whether someone actually sends an email, as browsers do not share this information.
Can I use Linkly’s other features with a shortened mailto link?
With mailto links, you can:
- Track clicks in Linkly with beautiful, visual reports.
- Target by Location
- Target by Device (for example, different emails based on Android or iOS)
- Apply retargeting tags
- Use custom domains for link shortening
- Use Linkify Words on your pages.
Other actionable link types Linkly can track
Mailto isn't the only protocol Linkly shortens. You can also create trackable, shortened links for:
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SMS Links — open the user's messaging app with a pre-filled phone number and message body.
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WhatsApp Links — drop the user straight into a WhatsApp conversation with optional pre-filled text.
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Tel Links — trigger a phone call with a tap, perfect for mobile landing pages and contact CTAs.
Like mailto links, each of these can be shortened, tracked, retargeted, and served from your own custom domain.
Get 100 short links and track 500 monthly clicks for free.