Home / Link in bio
Where a link in your bio actually works, platform by platform.
Six platforms, five kinds of placement. Several of them are not links at all.
Checked August 2026
Every claim links to its source. These rules change without warning.
Every cell is read from the platform's own documentation. Each platform also has a page here with the quotes and what to do instead when a placement is dead.
| Placement | TikTok | YouTube | Threads | X | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bio or profile link | YesUp to 5 | Conditional1,000 followers or a Verified Business Account | YesUp to 14, first one near Subscribe | YesPage website field, uncapped | YesUp to 5 | YesOne website field |
| Link in a post or caption | UndocumentedInstagram documents nothing about caption links | UndocumentedTikTok documents nothing about caption links | ConditionalLong-form descriptions, with advanced features enabled | ConditionalTwo a month on the free tier | YesClickable | YesClickable, rewritten through t.co |
| Link on top of the media | ConditionalStory link sticker only. Reels have no overlay | NoAnchors are for advertisers and Shop, not creators | ConditionalCards and end screens, Partner Programme only | UndocumentedNo Story link sticker documented | No such surface | No such surface |
| Link in a comment or reply | UndocumentedUndocumented | UndocumentedUndocumented | ConditionalLong-form only, with advanced features | ConditionalCounts against the two, unless the post already has one | YesA reply is a post | YesClickable |
| Short-form video specifically | NoNo Reel overlay, caption undocumented | UndocumentedCaption undocumented. Profile link only | NoShorts descriptions and comments are not clickable, deliberately, since August 2023 | ConditionalA Reel post spends one of the two | No such surface | No such surface |
Read from each platform's own help documentation in August 2026, and linked from the individual pages. "Undocumented" means the platform publishes nothing either way. Check the sources before betting a month of work on a row.
Four things most guides get wrong.
YouTube switched off Shorts links on purpose
URLs in Shorts descriptions and Shorts comments have been non-clickable since 31 August 2023, in YouTube's words "to reduce spam and scam attempts". Long-form descriptions still work. Put the link on your channel profile, where fourteen are allowed and nothing gates them.
Instagram Reels have no link overlay
Stories have a link sticker, and the follower requirement for it was removed in 2021. Reels have nothing. Meta's own documentation says link stickers "can only be used in organic Instagram Stories".
Facebook rations links to two a month
Not a ranking penalty, a hard quota: a free Page "can include links in up to 2 organic posts or comments per month". Paid Meta plans raise it. Links to Meta's own properties and links in ads are exempt.
No platform documents a reach penalty for links
Not one of the six. The nearest things to it are Facebook's quota, YouTube switching off Shorts links for anti-spam reasons, and Facebook demoting clickbait. X documents the opposite: link clicks are "an important quality signal in determining how relevant and interesting each post is".
Pick your platform.
Five bio links and a Story sticker. A Reel gets no link overlay at all.
Instagram link placementsTikTok
One link, and only at 1,000 followers or with a Verified Business Account.
TikTok link placementsYouTube
Fourteen channel links. Shorts descriptions have been dead since August 2023.
YouTube link placementsTwo link posts a month on a free Page. The Page website field is uncapped.
Facebook link placementsThreads
Clickable links in every post, five in the bio, and no Meta money at all.
Threads link placementsX
Every link works and every link becomes a t.co link. Clicks count in your favour.
X link placementsWhy any of this matters.
None of these six will give you your followers' email addresses, and none has an export that produces them.
A live placement is the route from a follower count to an email address you hold. Your Linkonz page carries up to ten links of its own, with a sign-up form and a payment block above them, so someone who taps through can join your list or pay you rather than only tapping on.