Frequently asked questions about posts

When writing, editing, or publishing posts in beehiiv, a few common questions can come up. We’ve compiled answers to help you quickly troubleshoot and move forward with confidence.

Can I duplicate a post?
Yes, you can duplicate any post, whether it's a draft or already published. Duplicated posts keep the original's style, formatting, and audience settings, and appear in your Posts list as a new draft with a number added to the title like so: (1).    
To duplicate a post:
1. Go to Posts from the left sidebar.
2. Find the post you want to duplicate.
3. Click the 3 dots menu for the post and select Duplicate post.

Pro Tip: From the 3 dots menu for each published post you can: view post details, edit, duplicate, or share the post, save it as a template, copy the post URL, access a gift link to paid content (for paid plans), and archive or delete the post.
How will I know if my email/post is too large to send smoothly?

While working in the Compose tab of the Post Builder, you'll see an email size icon at the top of the screen. This indicator shows how close your email is to the size threshold for Gmail clipping (which occurs at 102KB).

If your email approaches or exceeds this limit, you may see a warning to help you reduce the size before publishing.



For tips on keeping your email under the limit, see our guide: Ways to manage email weight and avoid Gmail clipping.

Why does my formatting change when I forward an email?

Email formatting can shift when forwarded due to differences in:

• Email clients (e.g. Gmail vs. Outlook).
• Devices (desktop vs. mobile).
• Browsers or added content.

These differences can affect how rich content (like images, media blocks, or styled text) is rendered. This is a common email behavior and not specific to beehiiv. For more information, check out: Reasons why images may not load for some subscribers.

Why do some of my embed links appear blank?

When you paste a full URL into a post, beehiiv tries to generate a native embed preview using metadata from the linked page.

Here is an example:



In some cases, however, the embed may appear blank, with missing fields like the title, description, or image. This happens when the website you're linking to does not make its page data available for embeds. Some websites and site builders restrict access to metadata, which prevents beehiiv from generating a full preview.

If the embed appears blank or missing key info (like a title, image, or description), it's usually because:

• The linked website restricts access to metadata, or
• You're using a link shortener (like Bitly or Linkly), which obscures the source.

Like in this example:



Tech Note: beehiiv does not support external link shorteners or trackers like Bitly or Linkly. These services can block or obscure the data needed to generate embed previews.

If your embed appears blank, you can manually edit the fields. Just click into the embed preview and add your own title, description, or image as needed.

Can I add my own custom privacy policy?

Not yet. Every publication includes a default beehiiv privacy policy, shown at the bottom of published posts. At this time, custom privacy policies aren’t supported, but this is on our roadmap.

All post privacy links point to: https://www.beehiiv.com/privacy.





Why am I getting a CORS error when embedding a form in a post?

If you're seeing a CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing) error after embedding a custom form directly into a beehiiv post, it's likely due to browser security restrictions that prevent requests to external APIs from unapproved sources.

This usually happens when:

• You're embedding a third-party or self-hosted form that submits data directly to an API.
• The form attempts to send data from the post's frontend (in the browser) to a backend service (like the beehiiv API) without proper authorization or CORS configuration.



What causes the error

Modern browsers block cross-origin requests unless explicitly allowed by the server receiving the request. The beehiiv API enforces CORS policies to protect your data and prevent unauthorized access. If your form tries to send data directly to the beehiiv API using client-side JavaScript, the request will be blocked, and your API key would be exposed in the process, which is a security risk.

How to resolve it

To prevent CORS issues follow these guidelines:

• Avoid sending requests directly to the beehiiv API from the browser. 
• Instead, route the form submission through your own backend server, which acts as a secure proxy.
• Use your server to store and use your API key safely.
• Configure CORS on your server to allow requests from your frontend or domain.

This setup keeps your API key private and avoids browser-level CORS restrictions.