How to Remove a Link Preview in a Telegram Channel Announcement

What changes after disabling the preview

When you paste a link into a Telegram channel post, the messenger may add a page card. It usually shows the site's title, description, image, and domain. This card is called a link preview.

Removing the preview does not remove the address itself from the text. The URL will remain in the announcement and will open when tapped. Only the visual block with page information disappears, so the post becomes more compact and your subscribers' attention stays on your text.

The preview must be disabled before publishing or scheduling the post. You can do this for a single message without changing how links appear in other chats. If a separate image is attached to the post, removing the site card will not delete that file.

How to remove a link preview from your phone

The steps in Telegram for Android and iPhone are almost the same. Menu item names may differ depending on the app version and interface language, but the button you need is next to the card itself.

1. Open the channel and start creating a new post.
2. Paste the link into the message field and add the announcement text.
3. Wait a few seconds for Telegram to load the page card.
4. Tap the X in the corner of the preview or select "Remove preview".
5. Check that the URL remains in the text and the card with the image and description has disappeared.

After that, you can publish the post or schedule it. If you accidentally deleted the address itself, paste it again and repeat the action. You need to close the preview block, not clear the message field.

With multiple links, Telegram may create a card for only one of them. First add all the text and all the addresses, then check which link the preview that appeared belongs to. After removing the card, review the post once more before sending.

How to disable the preview on a computer

In Telegram Desktop and the web version, paste the URL into the post creation field and wait for the card to load. The delete button is usually at the top of the block or at its right edge. Click the X, then make sure the link remains in the message text.

In some client versions, the action is hidden in an additional menu. Click the three dots or open the card menu and find the item related to removing or hiding the preview. The wording may differ, for example "Remove preview", "Hide preview", or "Remove Preview".

If the card hasn't appeared yet, there's nothing to remove: check your internet connection and wait for the page data to load. Sometimes a preview isn't created due to site specifics, a restriction on data retrieval, or a temporary error. This doesn't prevent you from publishing the URL itself.

After disabling, check the post in the editor window. If you pressed the send or schedule button earlier and then closed the preview, the action may not have applied to the message you already created. For a scheduled post, the card also needs to be removed before confirming the schedule.

Can you disable the preview in Telegram settings

Some Telegram versions have a general setting related to link previews. To check whether it exists, open the app settings and use the settings search. Try queries like "Link Previews" or "Link Previews".

The item you need may be in chat settings, the data and storage section, or another subsection. If your version has a toggle for showing or creating link cards, turn it off and create a new test post.

The general setting works if you don't want previews in either the channel or regular messages. For a single announcement, it's safer to remove the card manually: the toggle may affect other chats. When using your phone, Telegram Desktop, and the web version, keep in mind that the location and availability of the setting differ between clients.

Changing the setting does not remove cards from already published messages. It affects new messages created after the setting is changed. A finished post needs to be checked separately.

What to do if the post is already published

First, you can open the published post in the channel, bring up its menu, and select "Edit". If a card is shown in edit mode and there's an X or a remove preview option next to it, try removing it and saving the changes.

However, for channels this method doesn't always work. When editing an already published post, the X may not appear, and you can't remove the preview from a finished entry. In private messages this element is often available, but the behavior of channel posts is different, so you shouldn't count on editing as a guaranteed solution.

If you can't remove the card in the editor, it's more reliable to create a new post with the same text. Paste the link, wait for the preview to appear, remove it before publishing, and check the result in the feed. Delete the old post only after checking the new entry.

Deleting the old publication will also remove its views, reactions, comments, and related statistics. If this data matters, you can leave the previous post and publish the corrected version separately. Removing the URL from the text will remove the link, but it isn't a substitute for disabling the preview.

Only an administrator with the appropriate permission can edit or delete messages in a channel. If the button you need doesn't appear, check your account permissions or contact the administrator responsible for publications.

Why the preview appears again

The card may remain if you closed the edit window without saving, removed the preview in one draft but published another, or pressed "Publish" before the action completed. Before sending, check the message in the same window: the address should be visible and the separate block with the title and image should be gone.

With multiple URLs, Telegram sometimes creates a card for a different address. Add all the text in advance, review the links throughout the message, and repeat the removal after the final edit. If the post has a manually attached photo, it will remain: that's a media file, not a site preview.

Settings and controls may differ in the mobile app, Telegram Desktop, and the web version. If you removed the card on your computer, don't then open the same draft in another client without checking. In an old or already published post, the general toggle also isn't required to remove an existing preview.

If the card doesn't load right away, that doesn't always mean it's disabled. Wait for a response from the site and check the post before publishing. If necessary, create a short test entry without sending it to subscribers and confirm how Telegram handles the specific URL.

What remains in the link after removing the card

Disabling the preview only changes the appearance of the message. It doesn't shorten the URL, remove its parameters, or affect the page that opens when tapped. If the address contains analytics tags, they will remain in the link.

If you need to change the address itself, edit the link text separately. If you need to keep the URL and remove only the site's image, title, and description, use the preview removal before publishing. These actions are not interchangeable.

In short: what to do step by step

1. Create a post in the Telegram channel and add the link.
2. Wait for the preview card to appear.
3. Tap the X or select the remove preview option.
4. Check that the URL remains in the text and the card has disappeared.
5. Publish or schedule the announcement.
6. If the post is already published and there's no X when editing, create a new entry without the preview.