How to Save or Download a GIF (iPhone, Android, PC)

To save a GIF, touch and hold it on a phone, or right-click it on a computer, and choose the save option. That works on most web pages. The trouble starts with apps and big GIF sites, which often show a video instead of a real GIF file, so the saved file will not loop or arrives as a still picture. This guide covers each device, copying, links and the fixes. Menu names can shift a little between system versions and app updates.

How to save a GIF on iPhone

From Safari or another browser.

1. Touch and hold the GIF until a menu appears.
2. Tap Save to Photos (in some versions, Add to Photos).
3. Find it in Photos under Media Types > Animated, where it plays as a loop.

From a message. Touch and hold a GIF someone sent you in Messages and tap Save, or open it and use the share button, then Save Image.

From the GIPHY app. Open the GIF, tap the ... (more) button and choose Save to Camera Roll.

If the GIF looks frozen in your main Photos library, that is normal: open it from the Animated album to see it move.

How to save a GIF on Android

From Chrome or another browser.

1. Touch and hold the GIF.
2. Tap Download image.
3. Open it from your Downloads folder or the Files app. Some gallery apps only show the first frame; Google Photos plays it.

From a chat app. In WhatsApp, Telegram and similar apps, GIFs you receive are often stored as short videos. Use the app's save or download option, and if you need a real .gif file, convert the saved video with the video to GIF converter.

How to save a GIF on a computer

Windows or Mac.

1. Right-click the GIF (on a Mac, Control-click works too).
2. Choose Save Image As or Save image as....
3. Check the file name ends in .gif before you save.

On a Mac you can also drag the GIF from the browser onto your desktop. To view it, open it in a browser window; some photo viewers show only the first frame.

How to copy a GIF

Copying lets you paste a GIF straight into a chat or a document without saving it first.

• iPhone: touch and hold the GIF and tap Copy, then touch and hold the text field where you want it and tap Paste.
• Android: touch and hold the GIF and choose Copy image if your browser offers it. Not every app accepts a pasted GIF; if it arrives still, save it and attach it instead.
• Computer: right-click and choose Copy Image. Many chat apps on the web and desktop paste it as a moving GIF; email and document apps often paste only the first frame.

Copying the GIF's link (Copy Image Address or Copy Link) is the most reliable option. The other person sees the GIF move wherever links show previews.

How to download a GIF from a link or URL

If you have a link to a GIF:

1. Paste the link into your browser's address bar and open it.
2. If the address ends in .gif, you will see only the GIF. Save it with the steps for your device above.
3. If the link opens a page instead, such as a post or a GIF site, save the GIF from that page.

A link that ends in .mp4 or .webp gives you a video or WebP file, not a GIF. See the next section for how to turn it into one.

How to save a GIF as a GIF, not a video

Big GIF libraries and social apps usually play an MP4 or WebP file to make pages load faster. Save one and you get .mp4 or .webp instead of .gif, which may not loop or may not open where you need it.

• Look for the real GIF link. On a GIF's own page, a share option such as "copy GIF link" often gives an address ending in .gif. Open it and save from there.
• Convert what you saved. Open the free video to GIF converter, pick the .mp4 file and select Make GIF. It runs in your browser, so the file is not uploaded.
• Start with real GIF files. The GIFs in the LeafReel GIF library download as .gif with no sign-up, including thank you GIFs and happy birthday GIFs with a name.

How to download GIFs from GIPHY and Tenor

• Open the GIF's own page, not the search results, and look for a download or share option there.
• If you right-click a GIF in search results, you may save a WebP or MP4 preview. Use the .gif link method above instead.
• In the GIPHY phone app, the ... button has a save option, as covered in the iPhone section.

How to save a GIF from Twitter (X)

GIFs on X are not stored as GIF files. X turns every uploaded GIF into a short looping video, so there is no .gif to save directly. To keep one:

1. Save the video with a GIF saver or video downloader you trust. Be careful with sites full of pop-ups and never sign in with your X account on them.
2. Open the saved .mp4 in the video to GIF converter and select Make GIF.

If you only want to share it, copying the post's link is quicker and keeps the original.

Can you save GIFs from a GIF keyboard?

Mostly no. GIF keyboards, such as the GIPHY keyboard on iPhone or the Tenor GIFs in Gboard, are built to send a GIF, not to store it. The workaround is to send the GIF to yourself, or to a note, and save it from there using the steps above. To set one up, see how to get a GIF keyboard.

Fixes for GIFs that will not save properly

• It saved as a still image. The app flattened it, or your viewer shows only the first frame. Open it in a browser or the Animated album first. If it is truly still, save it again from the original page.
• It is too big to send or upload. Shrink it with the free GIF compressor, which runs in your browser.
• You want just one frame. Use GIF to frames to save any frame as a PNG picture.

Questions

Where do saved GIFs go on iPhone? To Photos, in the Animated album under Media Types.

Where do saved GIFs go on Android? To the Downloads folder, which you can open in the Files app or Google Photos.

Why does my saved GIF not move? Either the viewer shows only the first frame, or the file was saved as a still image. Open it in a browser to check.

Why did my GIF download as a WebP or MP4? The site served a lighter format in place of the GIF. Find the .gif link or convert the file with the video to GIF converter.

Is it legal to download GIFs? Saving one to send to friends is normal use. Using a GIF from a film, a show or an artist in an advert or a product can need permission, so check who made it first.