How would you design a simple URL shortener, something like bit.ly?
~10 min by voice
How to approach it
The interviewer wants to see whether you can break a simple system down into scenarios, API, storage and key generation, and whether you notice the practical details: collisions, the redirect, the load being skewed toward reads, protection against abuse.
The interviewer will ask this question and listen. Think out loud and ask for a hint if you need one. When you're done, pause or tap “That's my answer”. In about a minute, your score and the points you covered show up here.