When you share a link on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, the image that appears in the preview can make or break whether someone clicks. A blurry crop, a cut-off face, or a generic slice of background doesn't inspire confidence — or clicks.
Today we're rolling out smart image cropping for all LinkMagnet link previews.
What changed
Previously, when we generated your link preview image, we cropped it from the center — the same way most tools do. That works fine for wide, landscape photos. But for portrait images, product photos, or any image where the important part isn't dead-center, the result could be a preview that showed the wrong thing entirely.
Now, instead of always cropping from the center, LinkMagnet analyzes each image and focuses on the sharpest, most visually complex region — the part with the most detail, contrast, and texture. That's usually where the subject is.
How it works
When you create a short link, LinkMagnet fetches the image from the page you're sharing and runs it through an attention algorithm. The algorithm scans the image for areas of high visual activity — edges, fine detail, contrasting colors — and uses those signals to decide where to anchor the crop. The final preview image is generated from that region rather than from the center.
This works automatically. You don't need to change anything about how you use LinkMagnet.
Tips for the best results
Smart cropping is good, but the source image matters a lot. Here's how to help it do its best work:
Use images where the subject has clear edges and detail. The algorithm focuses on sharp, high-contrast areas. A well-lit photo of a product, a person's face, or a scene with strong visual structure gives it a clear signal to work with. Soft, blurry, or low-contrast images give it less to go on.
Avoid putting critical content near the very edges. Even with smart cropping, fitting a tall portrait image into a wide 1.91:1 preview means something will be cropped. Keep your most important content away from the extreme top and bottom edges when possible.
Portrait and square images benefit the most. If the page you're sharing uses a tall photo — a product shot, a person, an animal — smart cropping is most likely to make a visible difference. Landscape images that are already close to the 1.91:1 ratio need very little cropping and will look similar to before.
The original image quality matters. Smart cropping works on the source image from the page you're sharing. If that image is low resolution or heavily compressed, the preview will reflect that regardless of where we crop.
A note on aspect ratios
Social platforms display link previews at a roughly 1.91:1 aspect ratio (1200×630 pixels). If the original image is very tall — say, a full-length portrait — a significant portion will always be outside the frame. Smart cropping picks the best window we can, but it can't change the fundamental shape of the canvas.
If you're creating images specifically for social sharing, designing them at or near 1.91:1 will give you the most control over exactly what appears in the preview.
Already created a link?
Smart cropping applies to newly created links. If you created a link before this update and want to take advantage of smart cropping, create a new short link for the same URL.
Happy sharing!