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Reveal a link’s real destination before you open it. On a computer, move your pointer over the link and read the URL in the browser or app’s status area. On a phone or tablet, press and hold the link to display its address or preview menu. Then inspect the registered domain, not just the words shown in the message. If anything looks wrong, do not follow the link; open the organization’s known website or app yourself.
A preview can show useful metadata, but it is not a safety verdict. HTTPS, a familiar logo, a convincing page title, or a message from a familiar-looking sender can all be misleading.
The safest way to preview a link
- Reveal the destination without activating it. Hover on desktop, or press and hold on mobile.
- Read the actual address. Find the registered domain near the end of the hostname, before the first slash after it. Ignore persuasive words in subdomains.
- Check the context. Does the message, sender, timing and request make sense?
- When uncertain, stop. Navigate to the organization by typing a known address or using its official app instead.
These controls expose different amounts of information. A URL preview tells you where the browser will go; a rich card may show only a title, image and description fetched from that page. Treat the latter as a convenience, not proof that the destination is legitimate.
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Hover to reveal the status-bar URL
Move the pointer over the link and wait without clicking. Most browsers and mail applications show the target in a status area, usually near the lower-left corner, or in a tooltip. In Safari for Mac, the website URL appears in the status bar. If it is hidden, choose View > Show Status Bar.
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Do not move the pointer onto a nearby button or image that could be a separate link. Verify that the displayed address belongs to the link you intended to inspect.
Copy the link for a closer look
If the address is truncated or disappears too quickly, right-click (or Control-click on a Mac) and choose the option that copies the link address. Paste it into a plain-text editor, such as Notepad or TextEdit in plain-text mode. Reading a copied string does not load the website.
If you paste the address into the browser’s address bar, stop there. Pressing Enter navigates to it, so use this method only after you have decided the destination is acceptable.
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On a Mac trackpad that supports Force Click, pressing more firmly can open a content preview. It is still important to read the underlying URL in the status bar; the visual card is not a trust decision.
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Preview a link on an iPhone, iPad or Android device
- Press and hold the link for about a second.
- Wait for the context menu or preview card.
- Read the displayed destination before choosing Open, Open in New Tab, or a similar command.
- Dismiss the menu if the address is unexpected.
Menus differ among browsers, mail clients, messaging apps and social networks, so the wording and placement will not be identical. The long-press gesture is the consistent starting point on both Apple and Android devices.
Be careful not to slide your finger after the menu appears: selecting an action such as Open or Download can still activate the link. If a shortened address is shown, copy it and inspect the text rather than following it merely to discover where it leads.
How to read the URL you revealed
Find the registered domain
Browsers display a hostname from left to right, but the meaningful ownership boundary is the registered domain, generally the final two labels before the path (for example, example.com in login.example.com). A scammer can place a trusted name in a subdomain such as bank.example-attacker.com; the registered domain there is example-attacker.com, not the bank.
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- Compare every letter with the organization’s known domain.
- Watch for added words, missing letters, swapped characters and extra hyphens.
- Be alert for look-alike characters from another alphabet that resemble ordinary Latin letters.
- Do not treat a padlock or https:// as proof of legitimacy. HTTPS encrypts the connection, but malicious sites can use it too.
Understand shortened links
Services such as bit.ly, t.co, tinyurl.com and cutt.ly conceal the final destination. A short link is not automatically malicious, but you cannot judge the destination from the visible string alone. Copy it into a text editor, ask the sender for the full address through a separate channel, or ignore it and visit the claimed organization independently.
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Separate the host from the path
Words after the first single slash are the path and can be chosen to imitate a login page. The host before that slash determines which domain receives the request. Query parameters after a question mark can contain tracking or campaign data; they do not change the host, but they may reveal information about the message or recipient.
What different preview features actually show
| Method | What you see | Best use | What it cannot prove |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desktop hover/status bar | The target URL | Checking the host before opening | That the site is honest or harmless |
| Mobile long-press | The target URL and sometimes actions | Inspecting links in apps and messages | That the preview card or sender is trustworthy |
| Firefox link preview | Often an image, title, description and estimated reading time | Getting context before opening | That the destination is safe |
| Outlook rich preview | Page title, thumbnail and description | Recognizing a shared page in supported Outlook services | The true intent of the sender or legitimacy of the domain |
Firefox link previews (version 142 and later)
Mozilla introduced link previews in Firefox 142. Hold a link for about a second, or right-click it and choose Preview Link when the feature is available. The card can contain an image, page title, description and estimated reading time. Mozilla describes the rollout as experimental and progressive, so the command may not appear in every Firefox installation.
An optional AI-generated key-points feature reads the beginning of the page on the device. Mozilla says it requires at least 3 GB of available RAM. Because the card is derived from page content, verify the URL separately before signing in, downloading a file or entering payment information.
Outlook.com and Outlook on the web previews
Outlook.com and Outlook on the web may render a URL with its title, thumbnail and description. Microsoft documents this as enabled by default for the supported services. To disable it, open Settings > Mail > Compose and reply > Link preview.
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This is metadata supplied by the destination. A polished thumbnail can be copied or manipulated, and it does not replace reading the actual target address shown by hover or by copying the link.
Red flags to check before opening
- Domain mismatch: the message names one organization, but the registered domain belongs to another.
- Look-alike spelling: a letter is missing, duplicated or replaced by a visually similar character.
- Urgency or pressure: the message demands immediate payment, account recovery or a verification code.
- Unexpected context: you were not expecting the file, delivery notice, invoice or password reset.
- Shortened destination: the visible URL gives no indication of the final host.
- Unusual request: the page asks for credentials, one-time codes, card details or a download unrelated to your normal activity.
Email sender names, addresses and phone numbers can be spoofed. A familiar display name therefore cannot compensate for an unfamiliar destination or an implausible request.
If the link still seems suspicious
- Do not open it, reply with sensitive information, or enter passwords, verification codes or payment details.
- Open the organization’s official site by typing its known address yourself, using a bookmark you created earlier, or launching its official app.
- Contact the organization through a phone number or support page you obtained independently, not from the suspicious message.
- If you already opened the page, close it and do not submit information. If you entered credentials, change the password through the legitimate site and review other sessions or account alerts.
Do not assume that seeing a preview means the page has been scanned or approved. It only means an application obtained enough information to display an address or metadata.
Common problems and fixes
The URL does not appear when I hover
Move the pointer directly over the linked text, enlarge the window, and check whether the application has a hidden status bar. In Safari, use View > Show Status Bar. If the app still provides no indication, copy the link address and inspect the pasted text.
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Long-press opens the link immediately
Release as soon as the context menu appears and avoid tapping an action. Try the same message in the device’s default browser or mail app if the current app does not offer a preview menu.
The address is too long to understand
Focus on the hostname before the first slash. Copy the complete address into a plain-text editor and separate the host, path and query string. Long tracking parameters are less important than whether the registered domain is expected.
The preview card looks legitimate
Ignore the image and title until you have checked the domain. Attackers can make pages and metadata resemble a real brand, and HTTPS can protect a malicious site just as it protects a legitimate one.
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The feature is experimental and progressively rolling out, so it may not be enabled for your account or version. Use the standard hover, copy, or long-press method instead.
Or skip the browser setup
If you are a developer who needs a rendered copy of a page for documentation, testing or an automated workflow, ScreenshotNeo can return a screenshot or PDF through one GET request. It is not a replacement for checking a suspicious URL, and a screenshot cannot prove that a site is safe. It can, however, let an automated process inspect a page without configuring a local browser.
ScreenshotNeo accepts cookie or consent banners before capture and removes more than 60 known consent platforms, newsletter popups and chat widgets; each cleanup step can be disabled. Bot checks or CAPTCHAs, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads and cache hits are not billed, and response headers identify the page verdict and whether the request was billed. Its MCP server provides take_screenshot, get_page_info and capture_pdf tools for Claude, Cursor and other MCP clients.
See the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for all 63 options, including full-page capture with lazy images, CSS-selector element capture, dark mode, device presets, custom viewport and retina scale, PDF paper size and page ranges, custom CSS or JavaScript, clicks, selector waits, network-idle waits, ad and tracker blocking, custom headers and cookies, user-agent and authorization values, timezone and geolocation, transparent backgrounds, resizing, TTL-based caching, signed image links, asynchronous webhooks, bulk capture of up to 100 URLs per call, usage data and the OpenAPI specification.
cURL
curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com -o shot.webpPython
import requests
r = requests.get("https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot", params={"access_key": "YOUR_API_KEY", "url": "https://stripe.com"}, timeout=90)
open("shot.webp", "wb").write(r.content)Node.js
const q = new URLSearchParams({ access_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY', url: 'https://stripe.com' });
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