Description
Activity Link Preview For BuddyPress automatically generates beautiful link previews when users share URLs in BuddyPress activity posts and comments. The plugin fetches Open Graph data (image, title, description) from shared links and displays them in an attractive card format.
Key Features
- Automatic Link Detection – Detects URLs as users type in the activity form
- Rich Previews – Displays title, description, and featured image from shared links
- Comment Support – Link previews work in activity comments and replies
- Social Media Embeds – Special handling for Twitter/X, Facebook, YouTube, and more
- Short URL Support – Resolves shortened URLs (bit.ly, tinyurl, etc.)
- Caching – Previews are cached for better performance
- REST API Support – Link preview data available via BuddyPress REST API
- Developer Friendly – Filters to customize or disable functionality
Supported Platforms
- Twitter/X – Native tweet embeds
- Facebook – Native post embeds
- YouTube – Video embeds via oEmbed
- LinkedIn, Instagram, Reddit – Link previews
- Any website with Open Graph meta tags
Requirements
- WordPress 5.0 or higher
- PHP 7.4 or higher
- BuddyPress 6.0+ or BuddyBoss Platform
Screenshots
Link preview in activity post
Installation
- Upload the
buddypress-activity-link-previewfolder to/wp-content/plugins/ - Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
- Ensure BuddyPress or BuddyBoss Platform is active
- Start sharing links in BuddyPress activities!
FAQ
-
What are the plugin requirements?
-
The plugin requires:
* WordPress 5.0+
* PHP 7.4+
* BuddyPress 6.0+ OR BuddyBoss Platform -
How do I disable link previews in comments?
-
Add this code to your theme’s functions.php:
add_filter( ‘bp_activity_link_preview_enable_comments’, ‘__return_false’ ); -
Can I disable previews for specific users?
-
Yes, use the filter conditionally:
add_filter( ‘bp_activity_link_preview_enable_comments’, function( $enabled ) {
if ( current_user_can( ‘administrator’ ) ) {
return false;
}
return $enabled;
}); -
Why doesn’t the preview show for some URLs?
-
Some websites block automated requests or don’t have Open Graph meta tags. The plugin requires websites to have proper og:title, og:description, or og:image meta tags.
-
Is the plugin secure?
-
Yes. The plugin includes:
* SSRF protection (blocks internal/private IPs)
* CSRF protection via nonce verification
* Proper input sanitization and output escaping
* User authentication requirements -
Does it work with BuddyBoss?
-
Yes, the plugin is fully compatible with both BuddyPress and BuddyBoss Platform.
Reviews
ഫെബ്രുവരി 19, 2023
Thank you for making this and putting it out for free. It isn’t easy to find link preview features sometimes.
Even if it has to be a pro/paid version, you might think about finding a way to have the link preview’s image uploaded to wp-content uploads and then served from there. I’m sure that’s not super easy to do, but in order for this to work consistently and work well on larger sites, the images need to get cached or hosted within the same WordPress installation.
നവംബർ 2, 2022
Thank you
മെയ് 3, 2022
1 reply
I have tried everything to get links from Opensea to show on Buddyboss, and I had high hopes this would finally prove to be the solution…
But, nope, it doesnt work at all
ഏപ്രിൽ 22, 2021
1 reply
Not a fan of all their plugins but this one does the job perfectly (now that the fixes I suggested have been implemented). Highly recommended.
ഏപ്രിൽ 3, 2021
1 reply
Brilliant plugin from Wbcom Designs, as always! It creates an additional method for LMS sites to share information with and between students.
Contributors & Developers
“Activity Link Preview For BuddyPress” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
Translate “Activity Link Preview For BuddyPress” into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
1.7.2
- Fixed: Twitter/X and Facebook link previews now work in activity comments
- Fixed: @mentions no longer generate unwanted link previews
- Fixed: Hash symbol (#) no longer added to browser URL when closing previews
- Fixed: “Image X of undefined” no longer shows when images can’t be determined
- Added: Helper function to detect social media URLs for native embed handling
- Added: Same-site URL filtering to prevent internal profile links from generating previews
- Improved: Better null checking for image navigation in JavaScript
1.7.1
- Fixed: Plugin now auto-deactivates when BuddyPress or BuddyBoss Platform is not active
- Fixed: Added proper dependency check on admin_init hook
- Improved: Better error handling for missing dependencies
1.7.0
- Fixed: Scripts now load in footer for better performance
- Fixed: Proper input sanitization with wp_unslash() for POST data
- Fixed: Use wp_parse_url() instead of parse_url() for better compatibility
- Fixed: Added translators comments for internationalization
- Fixed: Plugin Check compatibility improvements
- Fixed: Nonce verification now mandatory for security (CSRF protection)
- Fixed: BuddyPress/BuddyBoss compatibility – function_exists checks added
- Fixed: PHP 8.2+ compatibility – removed deprecated HTML-ENTITIES encoding
- Fixed: BuddyPress class name detection improved
- Fixed: Comment filter registration timing for proper enable/disable support
- Added: Plugin version constant for proper asset cache busting
- Updated: Tested up to WordPress 6.9
- Updated: Requires PHP 7.4 minimum
1.6.1
- Security: Patched SSRF (Server Side Request Forgery) vulnerability in the URL parser.
1.6.0
- Added: Filter and event hooks to extend the activity preview functionality.
- Fixed: Twitter card preview duplication issue in multiple activities.
- Fixed: Twitter preview incorrectly appended to the second activity.
- Fixed: Activity content not displaying when preview is enabled.
- Fixed: Iframe not rendering correctly in activity previews.
- Fixed: Preview not visible when sharing X (formerly Twitter) links.
- Fixed: Activity link preview index logic for accurate rendering.
- Improved: String labels and content clarity across the plugin.
- Security: Patched SSRF (Server Side Request Forgery) vulnerability in the URL parser.
- Security: Fixed XSS issues in link preview rendering to improve safety.
1.4.4
- Fix: Hide raw Facebook and Twitter URLs in BuddyPress activity content.
- Fix: Addressed multiple issues with Facebook embed functionality.
- Fix: Resolved issues with console errors during content injection.
- Enhancement: Improved code quality for better readability and maintainability.
- Update: Added support for Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn link previews.
- Update: Enhanced compatibility with Reddit link previews.
- Feature: Included activity link preview data in the REST API activity endpoint.
- Fix: Resolved a YouTube link preview issue.
- Fix: Addressed issues where comments and replies could not be added to activities.
1.4.3
- Fix: Issue with Reddit
- Fix: Issue with YouTube link preview
1.4.2
- Fixed: Twitter/Instagram/Facebook preview issue
1.4.0
- Fixed: Added spacing between link preview container and post button
- Fixed: Unable to comment and reply issue
1.3.0
- Fixed: Added activity link data in REST API activity endpoint
- Fixed: PHPCS Fixes
1.2.0
- Fixed: Plugin activated when BuddyPress is not activated
- Fixed: Update spacing between text and buttons
- Fixed: YouTube link issue
1.1.0
- Fixed: Legacy Support
- Fixed: Preview generation on pasting URLs
- Fixed: Error message when meta values are not readable
1.0.0
- Initial release