The update of the message application for iOS, iPadOS and macOS brings creative new message formats and sending methods, from standard text formats to interesting text effects. But Apple also offers another way to let your messages show exactly what you want: better control over how links are displayed with you and the recipients.

While you have the greatest control over the link in your iMessage conversation, you can also customize how the link will appear in SMS, MMS, and RCS chats with Android users. First, make sure your iPhone, iPad, or Mac runs iOS 18, iPadOS 18, or macOS Sequoia 15, respectively. All of these updates were released on September 16.

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Select a different rich link preview

When you add a web link to the text field of any conversation (iMessage or others), the rich link preview will automatically load if available. You may notice that the title and domain area looks different on iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS 15. The background is no longer pure gray, but a color that complements the visible content in the preview.

In iMessage chat, you can change how the preview appears. Just click Preview and then click “Custom” in the menu that appears. On a Mac, you can display the context menu by right-clicking on the preview, Control-clicking, or using the trackpad to click with two fingers.

Not all pages are the same, so you may see two or three previews of rich links to choose from. Regardless of which one you choose, the title and domain sections will remain the same, but their background color will vary based on the preview image above or the thumbnail image on the side.

Here are more examples of rich link previews from different websites:

Some URLs have only one rich link preview available, so you won't see the Custom option in the context menu. There is no preview at all for other URLs.

Previously, when you paste a link without preview, the message draft would only show the URL itself in plain text. Once sent, it will be displayed inline as a small gray bubble with the domain name displayed next to the Safari icon. Now the gray bubble itself is visible in the draft, so what you see is what you get. It's taller, easier to see, and the Safari icon is slightly different.

Recipients on the older system will get any preview of your choice, although they will look slightly different (small link bubbles, pure grey title cards, etc.).

Choose between preview and plain text links

One of the biggest problems when sending links in a messaging app is how it is difficult to make the link look like plain text URLs, such as gadgethacks.com. You have to use SMS tricks to force a plain text URL to display after sending, and it is not always clear whether it works or not. The easiest way is to put a period before and after the URL.

With iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS 15, this problem is solved. It is not only suitable for iMessage conversations, but also for SMS, MMS and RCS chats with Android users.

Just click on any preview displayed (whether it's a big card or a gray bubble without preview) and click "Convert to text link". On a Mac, you can display the context menu by right-clicking on the preview, Control-clicking, or using the trackpad to click with two fingers.

The link will be converted to a plain text URL, which is exactly how it is sent in the message. After sending it, it will most likely be hyperlinked, so users can still click to open it quickly.

You can also convert plain text URLs to rich link previews with at least one available web page. Highlight the URL, or even just a small part of the URL, and select Show link preview from the context menu. On a Mac, you can display the context menu by right-clicking on the highlighted area, Control-clicking, or using the trackpad to click with two fingers.

From there, you can choose a different preview or convert it back to a plain text URL.

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Cover photos and screenshots courtesy of Justin Meyers/Gadget Hacks

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