Reddit Link Preview Not Working? How to Fix It

How Reddit fetches link previews

When you submit a link to Reddit, Reddit's scraper fetches the page and looks for Open Graph tags. If it finds a valid og:image, it displays a thumbnail alongside the post. On some subreddits and in the new Reddit UI, this becomes a larger expanded preview card.

Reddit's scraper runs once at submission time. If your OG tags are wrong at that moment — or if the image fails to load — Reddit won't retry. The preview stays blank or broken for the life of the post.

Fix 1: Ensure og:image meets Reddit's requirements

Reddit requires:

• Minimum image size: 108×108 px (thumbnail); 1200×628 px for expanded preview
• Absolute HTTPS URL (no relative paths, no HTTP)
• Image must be publicly accessible (no auth, no paywall, no geo-blocking)
• Supported formats: JPG, PNG, GIF (static GIFs only for previews)
• File size under ~20 MB

<!-- Correct og:image for Reddit -->
<meta property="og:image" content="https://example.com/og.jpg" />
<meta property="og:image:width" content="1200" />
<meta property="og:image:height" content="630" />

Fix 2: Verify og:image is accessible to Reddit's scraper

Reddit's scraper uses the user agent Redditbot. If your server blocks bots or requires cookies/JS, Reddit can't fetch the image. Check that:

• Your robots.txt doesn't block User-agent: Redditbot.
• The og:image URL returns a 200 status with the correct Content-Type: image/* header.
• The image isn't behind authentication or a Cloudflare bot challenge.

Fix 3: Add all required OG tags

Reddit reads several OG tags. Include at minimum:

<meta property="og:title" content="Your Page Title" />
<meta property="og:description" content="A short description." />
<meta property="og:image" content="https://example.com/og.jpg" />
<meta property="og:url" content="https://example.com/your-page" />
<meta property="og:type" content="website" />

Can I update a Reddit post preview after submission?

Not directly. Reddit caches link metadata at submission time and doesn't re-scrape. The options are:

1. Delete and resubmit (only if the post is new and has no significant upvotes/comments — resubmitting older content may violate subreddit rules).
2. Fix your OG tags and submit fresh — for future posts, the correct preview will appear automatically.
3. Contact a moderator — some subreddits will delete and repost official links on request.

Why the thumbnail shows but the expanded preview doesn't

Reddit shows a small thumbnail (108×108 px) in link list view but a larger expanded card (1200×628 px) in card view and on mobile. If your og:image is smaller than 1200 px wide, the thumbnail may show but the expanded preview will be degraded or missing.

Always use 1200×630 px to ensure both views work correctly.