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Shared Link Previews / Redirects Fail When Using Dynamic Link Aggregator Pages
Hi everyone, I’ve run into a problem related to how Dropbox handles preview metadata (title, image, etc.) and redirects when links are shared via pages that act as link aggregators (they collect gro...
Thanks for following up — I really appreciate the response.
Sorry for the confusion! Let me clarify what I’m trying to troubleshoot:
We work with WhatsApp groups in a community project, and we aggregate a lot of group invite links (WhatsApp, Telegram, etc.) on a central page like [removed by moderator].
We then sometimes share these links via Dropbox Paper docs or in shared Dropbox folders — either as part of instructions or collaboration docs.
The issue is that when someone pastes one of these URLs into Dropbox Paper (or even into a file stored in Dropbox), the link preview fails — no image, no description, sometimes it doesn’t even render at all. Same thing happens when you preview the shared doc via public link.
I’m guessing it could be due to how Dropbox handles redirects or scrapes OG metadata? I’m also wondering if there’s any sanitizing or blocking of dynamic pages like ours.
Megan
Dropbox Community Moderator
Dropbox Community ModeratorHey chaseclay, thanks for posting here!
I want to make sure we're aligned, so allow me to gather some additional info before I respond to your questions.
You mentioned a file/folder sharing tool. Can you clarify what you're actually sharing, because you also talked about Whatsapp invite links. Would you be able to share some additional info with me, as to how Dropbox is involved in this case?
If you have any screenshots that'll help me visualize what you mentioned, I'd be grateful.
Keep me posted, and we'll take it from there!
Thanks for following up — I really appreciate the response.
Sorry for the confusion! Let me clarify what I’m trying to troubleshoot:
We work with WhatsApp groups in a community project, and we aggregate a lot of group invite links (WhatsApp, Telegram, etc.) on a central page like [removed by moderator].
We then sometimes share these links via Dropbox Paper docs or in shared Dropbox folders — either as part of instructions or collaboration docs.
The issue is that when someone pastes one of these URLs into Dropbox Paper (or even into a file stored in Dropbox), the link preview fails — no image, no description, sometimes it doesn’t even render at all. Same thing happens when you preview the shared doc via public link.
I’m guessing it could be due to how Dropbox handles redirects or scrapes OG metadata? I’m also wondering if there’s any sanitizing or blocking of dynamic pages like ours.
Hannah CDropbox Product Manager
Hi chaseclay! I work on previews at Dropbox so I'm interested in learning more about the problem you're experiencing.
Just so that I'm understanding the problem correctly:
- You create share links for Dropbox paper docs or Dropbox folders
- You post that link to a different site where others can look at the content
- However, that link does not show any preview of the content
Is that right? Does this only happen with Dropbox links? If you share the same link with someone else like within WhatsApp message instead of the central page, does the preview or thumbnail show?
Thanks!
Hannah
