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The convenience offered by a TinyURL also introduces potential problems, which have led to criticism of the use of TinyURLs.

TinyURLs are subject to linkrot, in the case the service stops working, all URLs related to the service will become broken.

TinyURL obscures the original address, and as a result it's sometimes used to redirect to an unexpected site. Examples of this are rickrolling, redirecting to scam and affiliate websites, or shock sites; ZoneAlarm has given the warning "TinyURL may be unsafe. This website has been known to distribute spyware." TinyURL has countered this problem by offering an option to present a link when using TinyURL, instead of redirection.[2] In addition, even if the link does not include a preview, the preview may still be accessed by simply prefixing the word "preview" to the front of the URL (Ex: "tinyurl.com/8kmfp" could be retyped as "preview.tinyurl.com/8kmfp") to see where the link will lead. Opaqueness is also leveraged by spammers, who use such links in spam to bypass URL blacklists. TinyURL, in turn, disables spam related links from redirecting.[3]

Some websites have responded by blocking TinyURLs from being posted. In 2006, MySpace banned posting TinyURLs.[4] Yahoo! Answers blocks postings that contain TinyURLs.[citation needed] The Orkut social network recently suppressed all TinyURL addresses. Wikipedia also blocks TinyURLs from being posted as part of its spam filter. The Twitter network recently replaced TinyURL with Bit.ly as its default shortener of links longer than 26 characters. Panera Bread blocks access to TinyUrl within it's free Wifi network.