Why do links display differently? A guide to iPhone link previews
By Hannah Moss
Read our definitive guide to make sure your link previews always display as they should when sharing across different apps on your iPhone.
If you’ve ever wondered “Why do links display differently depending on which iPhone app you’re using?”, you’re not alone. Each app generates its own iPhone link preview, and that can lead to unexpected formatting changes.
In our recent Marketing Tips videos we’ve been sharing some great insights into making sure your blog posts and web pages are ‘share-ready’. This includes making sure your og image and og data are displaying correctly. “Og” stands for open graph, which is basically the integration between your website and Facebook.
But we recently discovered something even more interesting – when you share your content via your iPhone, it’s also the og image and og data that gets pulled through as a preview. Well, sometimes. In some apps. So we thought we’d dig a little deeper to find out what’s going on.
Whether you’re a mobile marketer, or you just want to know how to get that nice preview displaying when you send someone a link via your iPhone, check out our definitive guide below.
SMS/iMessage
So, it turns out that iPhone’s use of the og image and og title has only been in place since their update to iOS10.
Any links shared via SMS (text message) or iMessage in iOS10 or later will pull through the og image and og title ONLY if the following conditions are met:
1. Position is everything
The link has to be right at the beginning or end of the SMS, and when they say the end, they literally mean the end – only a full-stop is allowed afterwards, no kisses or emojis! If the link is in the middle of the text, it will only display as a hyperlink, not a proper preview.
2. Get your prefix
The link must start with either http:// or https:// so if you’re sharing a link without this prefix, you’ll need to add it in. The best way is to copy the link directly from your mobile web browser. E.g. in Safari you tap on the URL in the address bar, then tap again to see a Cut/Copy/Paste menu appear. Tap Copy, then you can paste the link into your message.
3. Tap to load
Your nice preview won’t be automatically displayed for the recipient – they have to “tap to load preview”. The og title and og image will display once the preview has loaded. Here’s an example in a text message from Vodafone:
4. No path to be found
Only the host name of the domain will display before and after preview; not the domain path. For example, if you shared the URL https://wildheartmedia.com/content-marketing-packages/, only the https://wildheartmedia.com/ part would actually be displayed in the message.
5. What if there’s no og image?
If there’s no og image set for the content that’s being shared, then the website’s favicon will be displayed instead (the small icon you see next to the website’s page titles in the browser tabs and bookmarks). If there’s no favicon set for the website, then the standard Safari favicon will display, as per the example below:
This serves as a great reminder to make sure you’ve set the right og image and og data for every page and post on your site. Check out this video if you’re not sure how.
6. Keep it singular
Multiple hyperlinks are not supported, so if you add more than one, there won’t be any previews, no matter where you place the links in your message.
So, provided you’ve added your og image and og data, and followed the rules above, your link should look something like this when shared in an SMS or iMessage:
Link sharing in WhatsApp on an iPhone seems to work in much the same way as above. The main differences are that you won’t need to tap to load the preview, and you can insert your link anywhere in the message. Also, the preview will actually appear above your message, rather than below it.
WhatsApp definitely uses the og data and image, which is no surprise, seeing as Facebook owns WhatsApp!
So, this is how your link will display in WhatsApp:
FB Messenger
The same thing applies in Facebook Messenger as in WhatsApp – you can place your link anywhere in the message. However, the preview will appear below the message, as it does in text messages:
In conclusion
So, now you know how your links will be displayed when you share them across SMS, WhatsApp and Messenger on an iPhone.
If you run a business you can see how important it is to make sure every blog post and every page of your website has an appropriate og image and og data applied. This is not only important for when your pages are shared across social media, but also when they’re shared in messages on mobile. And, as we all know, mobile is fast taking over the digital world!
For more information on setting the og image and data for each of your web pages and blog posts, check out the first of our Marketing Tips videos:
If you’ve ever shared a link on your iPhone and wondered why it shows a full preview in one app but only plain text in another, you’re not alone. Because every app handles link data differently, things can look inconsistent – and a bit mysterious. These quick FAQs break down why links display differently and how iPhone link previews actually work.
Why do links display differently on my iPhone?
Links display differently because each app generates its own preview using different rules. This means the same link can appear with a thumbnail, title or full card in one app, but only plain text in another. It all comes down to how each app reads and formats link metadata.
What is an iPhone link preview?
An iPhone link preview is the little card, image or snippet you see when you paste or share a link in apps like Messages, WhatsApp or Facebook. iPhone link previews are created automatically, and each app chooses how much information to show – which is why they can look so different.
Why do some apps show a link preview and others don’t?
Some apps support rich previews, while others strip links back to simple text for speed, design or privacy reasons. Even when apps do support previews, they may process the metadata differently – another reason links display differently across platforms.
Why does the same link look different in different iPhone apps?
Because each app has its own rendering engine. One app might prioritise the featured image, another the title, and another might ignore previews altogether. So if you’re asking why do links display differently even when the URL is identical, the answer is: every app handles the iPhone link preview in its own unique way.
Can I control how my link looks when shared?
To an extent. You can improve your link preview by updating your website’s metadata (Open Graph tags and featured image), but you can’t control how every app chooses to display it. Even with perfect metadata, iPhone link previews may still vary depending on the app.
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