Why does twatter force their link shortening "service" on everyone? Even those who can manage their own character count just fine, or already use bit-ly, ow-ly, etc.?

What are they tracking and/or hiding?

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How does link shortening work?

Links shared on Twitter, including links shared in Direct Messages, will automatically be processed and shortened to an http://t.co link. Learn how to shorten links. Please note: anyone with a t.co shortened link will be able to navigate to the destination URL.

Why does Twitter have its own link shortener?

Shortened links allow you to share long URLs in a Tweet while maintaining the maximum number of characters for your message.

Our link service measures information such as how many times a link has been clicked, which is an important quality signal in determining how relevant and interesting each Tweet is when compared to similar Tweets.

Having a link shortener protects users from malicious sites that engage in spreading malware, phishing attacks, and other harmful activity. A link converted by Twitter’s link service is checked against a list of potentially dangerous sites. Users are warned with the error message below when clicking on potentially harmful URLs.

Can I opt out of link shortening when I post links on Twitter?

Because of the reasons listed above, Twitter will shorten URLs you post on Twitter. You cannot opt out of link shortening.

https://help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/url-shortener