Using a GIF is one of the fun ways to spice up your communications on different platforms but the setback is the ability to keep the GIF for future use when someone sends it to you or when you stumble upon a GIF that you like. So, in this article, we will discuss how to download a GIF.
While you don’t have to pay a dime to download your favourite GIF online, countless tools can be used to download a GIF online.
How to Download a GIFS History
GIF, also called the “Graphics Interchange Format” was introduced in the early 80s by the CompuServe Corporation with the sole purpose of helping operating systems to be able to generate a high-resolution image without losing its quality. However, GIFs have over time become part of the internet that works on all operating systems with little or effort.
When GIF was first created it contained tidbits of quick animation played in loops which depends on the content even though the format may vary. Of a truth, you can find GIFs anywhere across the internet. Even as we write, most browsers have an inbuilt software that can be used to download and view GIFs. At the same time, you can also share your favourite GIFs as a message.
How to Send GIFs as a Message
If you find a GIF online and you want to send it as a message it is quite simple. All that is needed is to follow the steps below as we will be using giphy as an example.
- Open the GIF that you want to send as a message
- Highlight the GIF on the browser and copy it [Control +C on Windows or Command + C on Mac]
- Go to the ‘Chat” where you want to send the “GIF” as a message.
- Paste the “Copied GIF” either by using “Control + P” or “Command + P” or by right-clicking on empty space and clicking on “Paste.”
The GIF will be pasted and sent as a message to the contact. However, the GIF will not be accessible if it’s deleted from the database.
How to Download a GIF from giphy
Giphy is probably one of the most popular GIF download websites if not the most popular. So if you want to learn how to download a GIF from the GIF site it should be stressful. Therefore, we will walk you through how to download a GIF from giphy here.
- Go to giphy.com on a browser.
- Search for the GIF you want to download.
- Right-click on the “GIF” and select “Save Image as.”
- Choose “ ” in “Save as Type” and click on the “Save” button.
Now, the selected GIF will be saved as a GIF on your device and you can share it with anyone as a GIF image.
How to Download a GIF on iPhone
The iPhone Safari isn’t like other browsers out there because the Safari browser lacks a download manager that can easily let you download a GIF on your iPhone. Therefore, to download a GIF on iPhone you’d need to take an extra step and this article will guide you through.
- Open your “iPhone” browser and go to giphy.com.
- Search for the “GIF” you want to download.
- Press and hold the “GIF” on the download page to load the GIF menu.
- Select the option to “Save to Photo” from the list of options available.
- Close the “Browser” and open “Photo Apps” on your iPhone.
- Click on “Album” and scroll down and you will see all media on your device under the “Media Type.”
- Open the “Animated” option.
- You will see the downloaded “GIF” in the folder.
Meanwhile, if you open the GIF image and it looks static as if it is not moving. Don’t be scared it will animated once you send it. Meanwhile, you can share the GIF link directly from giphy but if it’s later deleted it will not open again on your iPhone.
Alternatively, if the above steps didn’t work for you to download your favourite GIF on your iPhone you can try the steps below. Meanwhile, here, we will make use of an app that allows iPhone users to download and save GIFs on their iOS devices.
- Go to your Apple apps store to download and install GIFWrapped.
- Click on the “Get” tab to download and install the GIFs downloader.
- Launch the “GIFWrapped” app once it has been downloaded successfully.
- Browse through the collection of GIFs in the app or use the search box to search for a particular GIF.
- Once you find the GIF that you want to download just press and hold the GIF for a few seconds and choose the option to save the GIF to your iPhone galley.
The GIF will be downloaded and it should animate. If it didn’t animate just try and send it as a message to see whether it’ll animate. If it does then we are good.
How to Download a GIF on Android
It is easier to download a GIF on Android compared to iPhone as the GIF will animate instantly whether you are using a GIF download app or you are downloading your GIF directly from Google or giphy.com, the process is the same. So, we will take you through how to download GIF on your Android phone here.
- Search for the GIF that you want to download on Google or by using Giphy.com
- Press and hold the GIF and click on “Download Image” from the options.
- The GIF will be downloaded as an image and still animate.
How to Download a GIF from Twitter
If you have a hard time downloading a GIF from Twitter (X), this article will walk you through it. Even though the process is different from how to download a GIF on iPhone or Android, you will still be able to save GIF from X to your device.
- Find the “GIF” you want to download on Twitter or X.
- Copy the “GIF URL.”
- Go to “Savetikmp4.com” and paste the GIF to download it to your device.
- Simple.
This is quick and short. You can use it to download as many as possible GIF images on Twitter or X.
How to Download a GIF from Google
There are varieties of GIFs that are available to download from Google if you know how to do just that. So, here, we will consider how to download a GIF from Google in this part.
- Go to “Google.com” and search for the “GIF” that you want to download.
- Click on the “GIF” that matches your intention.
- Right-click or press and hold and save as “GIF Image” in the “Save Image Type.”
- Go to your device download folder and open the “GIF.”
- It should be animated.
With the steps above you can save or download a GIF from Google on your PC or mobile phone and still make it animate.