Yes. To be specific, if you are using the Web based WhatsApp (or the 'Desktop' app), it will not load the preview until your phone has pinged that it's online.

Yes. To be specific, if you are using the Web based WhatsApp (or the 'Desktop' app), it will not load the preview until your phone has pinged that it's online. There are many times when I wait for the preview to load (because if you send the message without the preview, no-one else gets one either), only to have to wake my phone and voila, the preview then loads on Web WhatsApp.