A link preview is a small information card that an app creates when someone shares a URL. It normally shows the page title, domain or site name, a description, an image, and sometimes a site icon. The app fetches information from the destination, reads available metadata, and formats the result according to its own rules. A preview helps a recipient recognize a link before opening it, but it is not proof that the destination is safe.
What a link preview contains
After a URL is pasted into a messaging, social, email, or collaboration app, that app may request the page and build a card. Typical fields are:
- Title: the page or article name.
- Domain or site name: where the link leads.
- Description: a short summary, when available.
- Image: a representative photograph, illustration, or graphic.
- Site icon: a small favicon or brand mark.
There is no universal preview design. Each platform decides which fields to display, how large the card is, whether to show a card at all, and how long to cache fetched data. Two apps can therefore show different previews for the same URL. A platform can also omit a field even when the page supplies it.
How apps create previews
Open Graph metadata
The most common control mechanism is the Open Graph protocol. A site places metadata elements in the HTML <head>. The four core properties are og:title, og:type, og:image, and og:url. Optional properties such as og:description and og:site_name add context.
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<meta property="og:title" content="A page title">
<meta property="og:type" content="website">
<meta property="og:url" content="https://example.com/article">
<meta property="og:image" content="https://example.com/preview.jpg">
<meta property="og:description" content="A concise description of the page.">
<meta property="og:site_name" content="Example">
<meta property="og:image:alt" content="A description of the preview image">The image can have additional properties for MIME type, width, height, and alternative text. Include og:image:alt whenever an image is supplied so systems that support it have an accessible text alternative.
Fallback metadata and platform rules
If Open Graph fields are absent, an app may fall back to the HTML title, description metadata, favicon, structured data, or information returned by its own crawler. Those fallbacks are implementation choices, not guarantees. Platforms may cache a previous version, reject an image, rate-limit a crawler, or suppress the card for privacy or security reasons.
How to add a preview to your website
- Choose page-specific values. Write a useful title and description for the exact URL, not a generic home-page message.
- Place tags in the server-delivered head. Put the Open Graph elements in the initial HTML response so a crawler can read them without executing your application.
- Use absolute HTTPS URLs. The canonical URL and image URL should include the full scheme and host.
- Make the image representative. Do not use an image that requires a login, expires immediately, or is blocked by robots, authentication, or hotlink protection.
- Deploy and recrawl. Preview services cache results. After changing metadata, send the URL again or use the platform’s documented refresh mechanism when one exists.
For authenticated pages, expose metadata that describes the resource without revealing private content. A preview should identify what the recipient is being asked to open, not leak the contents of an account or document.
Apple Messages: an important implementation example
Apple says Messages can show a basic gray card containing a title, domain, and site icon. Open Graph metadata can add an image and a more meaningful caption. Messages reads metadata directly from the linked page: it does not run JavaScript or follow HTML meta redirects. Server-side HTTP redirects are followed.
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Apple’s technical guidance gives Messages-specific recommendations and limits. Icons should be square and at least 108 pixels per side. Preview images should be at least 900 pixels wide; images under 150 pixels wide may be ignored or shown as icons. The main resource is limited to 1 MB and associated resources to 10 MB. Apple notes that these values can change. They are not universal requirements for every messaging or social platform.
Why a link preview is not showing
The metadata is missing or in the wrong place
Check the raw HTML response, not only the DOM after your framework runs. If the tags are injected by client-side JavaScript, a crawler that does not execute JavaScript may never see them. Put the tags in the initial server-rendered document.
The URL redirects or requires access
Use a direct, canonical URL and test every redirect. A login wall, private network, expiring signed URL, or blocked crawler can prevent the app from retrieving the title or image. For private resources, provide non-sensitive descriptive metadata or accept that a generic preview may be the safer result.
The image is invalid, too small, or inaccessible
Confirm that the image returns a successful response over HTTPS, has a supported content type, and can be fetched without cookies. Verify its dimensions and file size. A page can have a correct og:image value and still display no image if the resource is unavailable to the platform’s crawler.
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The platform is using a cached card
Changing tags does not necessarily change an existing card immediately. Send the URL again after the cache expires or use the platform’s official debugger or refresh tool, if offered. Test with a harmless query-string variation only when the platform treats it as a separate URL and your canonical strategy permits that approach.
The app deliberately omits the card
Some messages, link types, privacy modes, or security systems suppress previews. A missing card does not by itself prove that your page is broken.
Does a link preview mean the link is safe?
No. A preview is a presentation of metadata retrieved from a URL. The title, image, and description can be misleading, outdated, or controlled by an attacker. Treat the card as an identification aid, not as an independent safety verdict.
Safety checks are separate. Meta’s March 9, 2026 engineering explanation describes Messenger Safe Browsing warnings for unsafe links, including links in end-to-end encrypted chats, with a privacy-preserving lookup approach for Advanced Browsing Protection. That describes Messenger’s implementation; other apps can use different systems or none at all. Before opening an unexpected link, inspect the actual domain, consider the sender and context, and avoid entering credentials after following an unfamiliar URL.
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Building previews in your own application
Fetch and render the metadata yourself
A custom unfurling service can request a URL, parse its HTML, select Open Graph fields, apply fallbacks, and render your own card. Keep the fetcher isolated from users’ browsers, enforce timeouts and response-size limits, and protect it against server-side request forgery. Do not allow arbitrary URLs to reach internal IP ranges, cloud metadata endpoints, or administrative services.
Respect redirects, validate the final scheme and host, limit downloaded images, and sanitize all text before inserting it into HTML. Cache results with an explicit expiry so repeated shares do not trigger unnecessary requests. Store only the URL and fields you need, and define how long submitted URLs and fetched content are retained.
Use a hosted unfurling API
A hosted service can return extracted title, description, image, site name, and response information. OpenGraph.io documents extraction of Open Graph metadata, Twitter Cards, and HTML meta tags, with cached results and an option for JavaScript rendering. When evaluating any provider, compare JavaScript support, cache controls, field fallbacks, rate limits, pricing, privacy handling, and behavior on redirects, failures, and authenticated pages. The available documentation does not establish a universal price, benchmark, or security audit for this category.
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsPractical checklist before publishing a shareable page
- Set unique
og:title,og:description,og:type,og:url, andog:imagevalues. - Add
og:site_nameandog:image:altwhere appropriate. - Serve the tags in the initial HTML response.
- Use an absolute HTTPS canonical URL and image URL.
- Allow legitimate preview crawlers to retrieve the page and image.
- Keep private information out of public metadata.
- Test redirects, image dimensions, content type, size, and cache behavior.
- Remember that each platform may display, cache, or suppress fields differently.
Frequently asked questions
Can I force every app to show the same preview?
No. You can provide consistent metadata, but each app controls retrieval, caching, field selection, and layout.
Should the preview image be the same as the page’s main image?
It can be, but a purpose-built share image often communicates the page topic better at card size. Ensure it is publicly fetchable and does not expose information the page is meant to protect.
Is Open Graph a replacement for search-engine metadata?
No. Open Graph primarily describes how a URL can appear when shared. Search engines have separate crawling, indexing, and structured-data systems.
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