Why isn’t my WhatsApp link preview showing?
Usually a missing og:image or og:title, an image that’s too small or too heavy, a page behind a login wall, or a slow response. Paste your URL above for a specific diagnosis.
How do I check a WhatsApp link preview before I send it?
Paste the URL into the box above and run the check. This debugger fetches the page the way WhatsApp does and shows the exact preview card, so you can test a link before sending it to anyone.
How do I test my Open Graph tags for WhatsApp?
Enter your page’s URL and check it. The result lists the Open Graph (og:) tags it found (title, description and image) and flags any that are missing, duplicated, or added by JavaScript that WhatsApp can’t read. When a tag is missing, you get a copy-paste snippet with the values already filled in.
What image does WhatsApp use as the thumbnail?
WhatsApp uses your og:image. When it’s large enough it fills the big preview card; when it’s small, heavy, an SVG, or not served over https it shrinks to a small thumbnail next to the text. The check above tells you which layout your link will get.
Can I check any URL, or only my own site?
Any public http/https URL works: your own page, a landing page, a shop product or a news article. It only reads the page’s tags to build the preview; it needs no access to your site and no login.
I fixed my tags but WhatsApp still shows the old preview.
WhatsApp caches previews, so an already-shared link can keep its old card for a while. Changing the URL slightly (for example adding ?v=2) forces a fresh fetch.
What image size should I use for WhatsApp?
Use a clear, well-compressed image that is at least ~300 px on the short side and under a couple of megabytes. 1200×630 is still a safe landscape choice, but it is no longer required. See the next question.
Can I use a vertical or square image for the WhatsApp preview?
Yes. WhatsApp now shows the preview image at its own shape (portrait, square or landscape) instead of cropping everything to a 1200×630 banner. Just keep it reasonably large and well-compressed so it still shows as the big card rather than a small thumbnail.
Why does my link show a small thumbnail instead of the big image?
That happens when the image is small (roughly under 300 px on the short side), too heavy, an SVG, or not served over https. WhatsApp falls back to the compact thumbnail layout. Fix the image and it switches to the large card.
How long does WhatsApp cache a link preview?
There is no official figure: a cached preview can last anywhere from hours to weeks. If you have updated your tags and still see the old card, change the URL slightly (for example add ?v=2) to force a fresh fetch.
Does WhatsApp use the same tags as Facebook and Twitter?
Largely yes. WhatsApp reads Open Graph (og:) tags first, then falls back to Twitter Card tags and finally the page’s <title> and meta description, so getting your Open Graph tags right fixes the preview across most apps at once.
How does this tool fetch my page, and why do the results match WhatsApp?
It requests your page the same way WhatsApp’s own link crawler does, using WhatsApp’s user agent. Some sites (Instagram and other Meta pages especially) only reveal their Open Graph tags to a recognized preview bot and return a bare page to an ordinary browser, so a general link tester can wrongly show “no image”. Fetching as WhatsApp is why what you see here should match the real chat.
Can I share or bookmark a preview result?
Yes. When you check a link, this page’s address updates with a ?url= parameter, so you can bookmark it or send the address to someone: opening it re-runs the check on that link automatically. You can also build the link by hand: add ?url=https://your-page to this page’s address.
Why does the preview show on one phone but not another?
WhatsApp builds the preview on the device that pastes the link, so a slow connection, an out-of-date app, or a version it cached earlier can make the card appear on one phone and not another. If one device is stuck on an old card, change the URL slightly (for example add ?v=2) to force a fresh fetch.
Does WhatsApp preview every link in a message?
No, WhatsApp only builds a preview for the first link in a message, and only for http/https URLs. Extra links in the same message stay as plain text.
Does this send anything on WhatsApp?
No. It only fetches the page you enter and reads its tags, exactly like building a preview. Nothing is posted or sent. To actually share a link, use the
share widget.