There have been a lot of talks about external links on social media apps that take users to other apps and websites. This also reduces engagement on the main app where the link was originally posted. Many social media platforms are now imposing penalties on external links and this reduces the traffic on other social media apps which were using other sources to drive traffic to their apps. So, where do different social networks stand when it comes to external links?
Facebook doesn’t say anything about penalizing external links on the app, but it is prominent that the reach of external links have been significantly reduced on the platform. According to data by Facebook, 95% posts that appear on user feeds do not have any external links and this percentage keeps on increasing. This means that Facebook is just reducing relevance of external links instead of doing anything to their reach. Another reason is that there has been a huge decrease among video/news content on Facebook which has contributed to reducing external links.
Instagram, on the other hand, has never let users post links in captions so it was never a good platform to drive traffic to other websites. Users can post links in stories but they can only reach specific audiences or the followers. Instagram isn’t actively restricting external links because it doesn’t have a reason to do so. Threads is also not restricting external links, as opposed to what many users might think. Adam Mosseri says that Instagram and Threads are not penalizing external links and if some users think that Threads is limiting the reach of posts, it is mostly because of user behavior.
X is also not penalizing or limiting the reach of posts that have external links. It is all because of user behavior and algorithm, based on what type of content users prefer on the platform. X says that they however want people to write their thoughts directly on the app instead of posting links.
Reddit is typically more open to external links but is very community-driven forum. Links in posts are allowed but may be downvoted if users feel they’re spammy or irrelevant, which can limit their reach. Subreddit rules vary, so some may restrict links or penalize low-quality content.
Just like Instagram, TikTok also cannot support links in comments or posts so that means it doesn’t have to limit the reach of posts with external links.
Snapchat also doesn’t have any room for external links but it has a policy of restricting some links to other apps. Users can still post links on Snapchat stories without any limitations of reach.
LinkedIn also doesn’t have any policies about external links but it has made a change in link-thumbnail sizes on the posts. If a company is willing to pay LinkedIn for promotion, LinkedIn shows that link in bigger size. If there is no promotion, the link size is small and not prominent.
Pinterest allows external links but may limit the reach of pins depending on factors like engagement, user behavior, and whether the pin is part of a promoted campaign or group. It has a unique focus on traffic generation, often encouraging users to share links, but the platform still has its own limitations on organic reach for unpaid content.
All in all, there is no social media platform that is restricting or penalizing posts with external links yet. However, most of them are not very suitable for link posting. In contrast, some users still see BlueSky as the best platform for posting links.
Image: DIW-Aigen
Here’s a breakdown of where major social platforms stand on external links and how they affect reach.
| Platform | External Link Policy | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Penalizes link posts indirectly | Link posts are less common, reducing referral traffic due to AI content and Page updates. | |
| No direct penalty | Links can’t be posted in captions; Stories have limited reach (followers only). | |
| Threads | No penalty for links | No active restrictions; reach limitations are driven by user behavior. |
| X | Penalizes link posts | Links have reduced reach due to algorithmic updates and user behavior. |
| TikTok | No penalty for links | No links in descriptions/comments, but profile bio links are unrestricted (except for eCommerce sites). |
| Snapchat | No penalty for promoted links | Links in Stories have no penalty; restrictions on non-browser-loading pages and other social apps. |
| Reduced reach for link posts | Smaller link previews unless promoted; organic reach is lower for unpaid link posts. | |
| Bluesky | Supports external links | Actively supports external links as a key element of the platform. |
| Allows links but limits reach | Links are allowed, but reach may be limited depending on engagement and whether posts are promoted. | |
| Allows links but with restrictions | Links are allowed but may be downvoted or restricted by subreddit rules or user behavior. |
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