The max-image-preview robots directive explained
max-image-preview is a Google robots directive that bounds how large an image preview may appear for your pages in search results. This page explains its three values, where to set it, and why it matters for visual content and Discover-style surfaces.
The three values
max-image-preview accepts exactly three settings. none means no image preview may be shown. standard permits a default-size preview. large permits a larger preview, which can help visually rich content in results and on surfaces like Google Discover.
The directive bounds the maximum size; Google may still choose a smaller preview. It does not stop the image being indexed — that is governed separately.
- none — no image preview
- standard — default-size preview
- large — larger preview (useful for Discover and visual results)
Where to set it
In a meta robots tag:
<meta name="robots" content="max-image-preview:large">
Or via the X-Robots-Tag header, including for image responses:
X-Robots-Tag: max-image-preview:large
Many publishers set max-image-preview:large site-wide to qualify for large previews. You can combine it with max-snippet and max-video-preview in a single content value. Treat it as a Google directive unless other engines document the same.
How it appears in analytics and logs
max-image-preview is an indexing directive read from your meta robots tag or X-Robots-Tag header. It does not appear in logs; its effect is the size of image previews Google may show, not a change in crawling.
Diagnostic use case
Allow large image previews for visually rich content to stand out in results and Discover, or restrict previews to standard or none for sensitive imagery.
What WebmasterID can help detect
WebmasterID reports crawler traffic rather than image-preview rendering, so this directive is context that keeps preview-policy decisions separate from the crawler analysis WebmasterID provides.
Common mistakes
- Using a value other than none, standard, or large.
- Expecting max-image-preview to control image indexing rather than preview size.
- Assuming non-Google engines honour it identically.
Privacy and accuracy notes
max-image-preview governs previews of your own images. It involves no visitor data and is not an access-control mechanism.
Related pages
- max-snippet and preview directives explained
max-snippet, max-image-preview, and max-video-preview are Google robots directives that cap how much of your content appears in result-page previews. This page explains the values each accepts, where to set them, and how they differ from blocking indexing.
- The nosnippet robots directive explained
nosnippet is a Google robots directive that tells Google not to show any text snippet or video preview for a page in search results. This page explains where to set it, what it affects, and how it relates to the finer-grained max-snippet and data-nosnippet controls.
- Meta robots directives reference
The robots meta tag and X-Robots-Tag header share a vocabulary of indexing directives. This page is a reference for the common ones — noindex, nofollow, noarchive, nosnippet, and the max-snippet family — explaining what each does and how to combine them.
- WebmasterID docs
How WebmasterID separates crawler signals from preview policy.
Sources and verification notes
- Google — max-image-preview directiveDocuments the max-image-preview values none, standard, and large.
Last reviewed 2026-06-24. Facts are checked against primary/official sources where available; uncertain specifics are marked “Data not yet verified” rather than guessed.