Why platforms cache
When you share a URL, the platform — Facebook, LinkedIn, Slack, WhatsApp — sends a crawler to fetch your page and read its Open Graph tags. The result is stored in the platform's cache. The next time someone shares the same URL, the platform serves the cached preview rather than fetching the page again.
This is by design. Re-fetching every URL on every share would be expensive and slow. But it means that fixing your Open Graph tags does not immediately update every preview. The cached version persists until the platform decides to re-scrape, or until you force a refresh.
Run the free Open Graph Checker to see which tags are missing, invalid, or too small.
Per-platform behavior
Facebook caches page scrapes and reuses them across posts. The cache duration is not officially published and can vary by how frequently a URL is shared.
To force a re-scrape, use the Facebook Sharing Debugger. Paste your URL and click Debug. If the cached version is stale, click Scrape Again. Facebook will fetch the page immediately and update the stored preview.
LinkedIn caches scrapes for approximately 7 days. This is one of the longer cache windows of any major platform. You can update the cached preview before the 7 days expire using LinkedIn Post Inspector. Paste your URL and click Inspect — LinkedIn re-scrapes the page and shows you the updated result.
Fix the tags on the live page before running Post Inspector. If you run the inspector before deploying your fix, LinkedIn will cache the broken tags again and reset the 7-day window.
X (Twitter)
Use the Twitter Card Validator to re-scrape a URL. X's cache duration is not published. For most URLs the cache is shorter than LinkedIn's, but the validator is the reliable way to confirm what X currently reads.
Discord
Discord caches link embeds. Once a URL has been pasted in a channel, Discord stores the preview and may not re-scrape it for a significant period. Adding a query string to the URL — for example ?v=2 — causes Discord to treat it as a new URL and fetch a fresh preview. This is a common workaround when you need to share an updated image in an existing channel.
WhatsApp fetches the preview when the message is sent and caches it. The cache is sticky — sharing the same URL again in a new conversation will typically show the same cached preview. A query-string change (appending ?v=2 or similar) causes WhatsApp to treat the URL as distinct and fetch a new preview.
How to force a refresh
The approach depends on the platform:
- Facebook — Facebook Sharing Debugger → Scrape Again
- LinkedIn — LinkedIn Post Inspector → Inspect
- X — X Card Validator → submit the URL
- Discord and WhatsApp — append a query string (
?v=2) to get the platform to treat it as a new URL
For Discord and WhatsApp, the query-string approach works because the platforms key their cache on the full URL. Any change to the URL — even a parameter that your server ignores — produces a cache miss and a fresh scrape.
Why fixing the tag isn't enough on its own
Deploying updated Open Graph tags to your live page is necessary, but it doesn't update any platform's cache. Each platform will continue showing the old preview until one of the following happens:
- The cache expires naturally (varies by platform — up to 7 days for LinkedIn)
- You use the platform's debug or inspector tool to force a re-scrape
- Someone shares a URL variation (query string) that the platform hasn't cached
If you fix the tags and immediately check the preview in a sharing tool, you may still see the old version. Confirm the tags are correct using the Open Graph Checker first — that fetches the live page directly. Then use the per-platform tools to clear the cache.
See LinkedIn preview not updating and WhatsApp preview not showing image for platform-specific fix checklists.