011 min
How to download GIFs from X (Twitter) — and why they are actually MP4s
X stores GIFs as silent MP4 video. Here is how to save a public post, and when to convert it back to a GIF.
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Learn the tools
Practical notes on saving GIFs, cutting file size, and making loops that survive a chat window.
X stores GIFs as silent MP4 video. Here is how to save a public post, and when to convert it back to a GIF.
Read →Copy a public pin link, including pin.it, and save the original GIF when Pinterest has one.
Read →Discord has no public GIF page. Save CDN attachments, Tenor links, and Giphy links, and fit an emoji.
Read →Photos on iPhone often stores a GIF as a looping video. Here is how to keep an actual GIF file on either phone.
Read →GIF transparency is on or off per pixel. Use a matte and an alpha threshold so the edge matches the background.
Read →Shrink dimensions, frames, and colors in that order. Dithering is how you spend the colors you kept.
Read →GIF is universal and inefficient. MP4 is what social apps want. Animated WebP sits in between, when the app allows it.
Read →A short pat loop at 128×128, with a transparent background and a hand that is not a copied sprite.
Read →Meme text, timed subtitles, and animated type are different jobs. Pick the maker that matches the job.
Read →Discord emoji, Twitch emotes, banners, and the file caps Gif Downloader uses. The numbers come from the platform config.
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