Snap URL Preview Service user agent
Operated by Snap
Snap URL Preview Service is the fetcher Snapchat uses to build previews for links shared in Snapchat.
The Snap URL Preview Service bot at a glance
- Snap URL Preview Service is operated by Snap and reads page titles, descriptions and images to build link previews.
- The robots.txt token for Snap URL Preview Service is Snap URL Preview Service.
- Blocking a social preview bot has no effect on search rankings.
- Snap URL Preview Service robots.txt support: Not documented.
- Recommendation for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO): Allow.
What is Snap URL Preview Service?
The service reads a shared page’s title and image for the preview card in chats and stories.
Its user agent points to Snap’s developer robots page.
Should you block Snap URL Preview Service?
Allow Snap URL Preview Service unless it causes a measurable load problem.
| Effect on search rankings | Blocking a social preview bot has no effect on search rankings. |
|---|---|
| Effect on AI visibility | No direct effect on AI answers, but shared links lose their title, image and description, which usually lowers clicks from social and chat apps. |
| Follows robots.txt | Not documented |
| Recommendation | Allow |
How to block or allow Snap URL Preview Service
Put the robots.txt rule in the file at the root of every domain and subdomain, for example https://example.com/robots.txt. The token Snap URL Preview Service is matched case-insensitively. robots.txt alone may not stop Snap URL Preview Service, so add the Nginx, Apache or Cloudflare rule as well.
robots.txt: block
# Block Snap URL Preview Service
User-agent: Snap URL Preview Service
Disallow: /robots.txt: allow
# Allow Snap URL Preview Service
User-agent: Snap URL Preview Service
Allow: /robots.txt: partial
# Keep Snap URL Preview Service out of private areas only
User-agent: Snap URL Preview Service
Disallow: /wp-admin/
Disallow: /cart/
Disallow: /checkout/
Disallow: /my-account/
Allow: /Nginx
# Nginx: return 403 to Snap URL Preview Service
if ($http_user_agent ~* "(Snap URL Preview Service)") {
return 403;
}Apache
# Apache .htaccess: return 403 to Snap URL Preview Service
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} (Snap URL Preview Service) [NC]
RewriteRule .* - [F,L]Cloudflare WAF
# Cloudflare > Security > WAF > Custom rule, action: Block
(http.user_agent contains "Snap URL Preview Service")How to verify real Snap URL Preview Service traffic
Snap publishes no IP list or reverse DNS pattern for Snap URL Preview Service, so the user agent cannot be verified. Anyone can send the same string. Rate-limit unusual volume instead of trusting the name.
How to find Snap URL Preview Service in your server logs
Search the web server access log for the token. The command below counts Snap URL Preview Service requests per URL on Nginx or Apache.
grep -i "Snap URL Preview Service" access.log | awk '{print $7}' | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20For a full report per AI bot, upload the log to the AI Log File Analyzer, a free tool by Justin Hà.
Snap URL Preview Service user agent string
The full user agent Snap publishes for Snap URL Preview Service. Version numbers such as Chrome/W.X.Y.Z change over time, so match the token, not the whole string.
Snap URL Preview Service; bot; snapchat; https://developers.snap.com/robotsSnap URL Preview Service FAQ
Snap URL Preview Service identifies itself with the robots.txt token "Snap URL Preview Service". A typical request header reads: Snap URL Preview Service; bot; snapchat; https://developers.snap.com/robots
Snap has not documented how Snap URL Preview Service treats robots.txt. Add a robots.txt rule and back it with a server rule if the traffic matters to you.
Blocking a social preview bot has no effect on search rankings. No direct effect on AI answers, but shared links lose their title, image and description, which usually lowers clicks from social and chat apps.
Add two lines to the robots.txt file at the root of each domain and subdomain: "User-agent: Snap URL Preview Service" followed by "Disallow: /". The token is case-insensitive. Changes can take up to 24 hours to be picked up.
Not reliably. Snap publishes no IP list or reverse DNS pattern for Snap URL Preview Service, so anyone can send the same user agent. Rate-limit unusual volume instead of trusting the name.
Search your server access log for "Snap URL Preview Service", for example with: grep -i "Snap URL Preview Service" access.log. The AI Log File Analyzer by Justin Hà counts visits per AI bot from an uploaded log file.
Sources: Public bot registry. Last reviewed by Justin Hà.
See which of these bots actually reach your website
The AI Log File Analyzer by Justin Hà counts visits from GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot and other AI crawlers in your server log, for free. The GEO Technical Package sets up robots.txt, llms.txt and crawler access for AI search.
