Operated by Meta
Generates link previews when your URLs are shared socially.
Recommended action: Allow access. Blocking breaks social sharing previews.
Category
Preview Bot
Primary use case
Social media link previews
Trust level
Caution advised
Trust Levels
- Trusted
- Generally safe
- Review recommended
- Caution advised
Trust levels are an indication based on category, operator, and robots.txt compliance. Always review bot activity for your specific situation.
Learn how we assess trustrobots.txt
Not respected
What is WhatsApp?
WhatsApp's preview bot fetches link metadata when someone shares a URL in a WhatsApp chat. It reads Open Graph tags to display a title, description, and thumbnail image.
What WhatsApp means for your site
Every visit from WhatsApp means someone shared your URL on Meta. The bot fetches your page to generate the link preview card (title, image, description) that appears in the conversation or feed. These are valuable visibility signals that traditional analytics miss entirely. High preview bot activity indicates your content is being shared and discussed.
What should you do?
- Allow WhatsApp, blocking breaks link previews
- Ensure Open Graph meta tags (og:title, og:description, og:image) are set on key pages
- Monitor share patterns to identify which content resonates
- Use BotSights to track social shares that Google Analytics misses
How to identify WhatsApp
WhatsApp uses the user-agent "whatsapp". It does not respect robots.txt, which is normal for preview bots since they need access to generate link cards.
whatsappWhatsAppFrequently Asked Questions
Does a visit from WhatsApp mean my link was shared?
Yes. Each visit represents a share event on Meta. Someone sent your URL to another person or posted it publicly.
Should I block WhatsApp?
No. Blocking prevents link preview cards from appearing when your URLs are shared. This makes shared links less attractive and reduces clicks.
How can I improve my link preview?
Add Open Graph tags: og:title, og:description, og:image. These control what appears in the preview card on Meta.
Other Preview Bot bots
Detect social shares that analytics tools miss
Every visit from WhatsApp means someone shared your link. BotSights tracks these invisible shares so you know which content resonates.
- See when your links are shared on social platforms
- Track which pages get shared most
- Discover social traffic your analytics can't see
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