May 8, 2026, 7:19 pm | Read time: 3 minutes
When sending a link via WhatsApp, a small preview was automatically included. However, this feature can be turned off by enabling a setting. TECHBOOK explains why this should definitely be done.
Instead of a plain, bare snippet of text that redirects to a website, a small link preview often automatically appears in WhatsApp message windows along with sent links. It looks nicer, but more importantly, it allows the recipient to get a small preview of what to expect when visiting the page. The link preview includes an image, the headline of the sent content, and a short introductory text. This feature has hardly bothered anyone so far. However, there is actually a compelling reason for concern.
Why you should disable link previews on WhatsApp
When sending links via WhatsApp with a link preview, you unknowingly reveal something else: your IP address. The portal “WABetaInfo” pointed this out. This leak allows third parties to track the paths the user takes on the internet.
You’ve heard of this before…
In fact, this issue is not entirely new—at least with iMessage. In 2016, Ross McKillop first reported on his blog that sending links with a link preview could lead to an unintended data exposure. The developer warned at the time about the public disclosure not only of the IP address but also of the device type and operating system version. The reason is that iMessage executes the corresponding link requests directly from the device—not just from the currently used one, but also from devices linked to it.
This is different with messaging services such as Slack or Facebook, which use a proxy, a mediator between the used smartphone or computer and the corresponding internet service. According to McKillop, this is a goldmine for criminals who can easily find out which of the user’s devices are linked with iMessage by sending links to users.
At that time, the link preview could not be turned off. The expert had a somewhat unorthodox solution: manually extracting the metadata that the messenger automatically retrieves beforehand, then sending it along with the link. Yes, that sounds complicated—you can gladly ignore it, as there is a much simpler way.
Disabling link previews on WhatsApp—here’s how!
The editors of “WABetaInfo” found a way in the WhatsApp settings to solve the problem easily and once and for all: by enabling a specific setting. This, in turn, leads to the deactivation of the link preview on WhatsApp.
Here’s how it works: In the app, go to “Privacy” and access the advanced settings. Here, you will find an option to “Disable link preview,” located directly under “Protect IP address in calls.”