How to Save or Download an Animated GIF Step by Step

You've probably come across GIFs more than once while scrolling through social media. Well, these animated images are everywhere! GIF usage seems to be over the top across all social media, not just in public posts and comments, but also in DMs (direct messages).

Not only are they cute, but they're also fun to use. They're so popular because there's a GIF for almost every emotion, occasion, holiday, and reaction. You name it and the web has it!

If you want to save or download an animated GIF, this article will show you how to do it.

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What is a GIF?

In its simplest form, a GIF (pronounced “gif” or “jiff”) is simply an image file. Like the JPEG or PNG file format, the GIF format can be used to make still images. However, the GIF format has a special feature: it can also be used to create moving images. We refer to them as “moving images” because GIFs are not actually videos.

GIF files contain multiple images at once, and people have realized that these images could be loaded consecutively (again, much like a flipbook) if they were decoded in a certain way.

GIFs are gaining popularity because, like memes, they are useful for communicating jokes, emotions, and ideas and also help brands create a viral content marketing strategy. Also, sites like GIPHY and Gyfcat make it very easy to share and create GIFs. These types of services are integrated into apps like Twitter and Facebook. Facebook Messenger, and on the same cell phone keyboard, so they are as easy to use as emojis or stickers.

How to Save or Download an Animated GIF on iPhone or iPad

To save a GIF to your iPhone e iPad, follow the next steps:

1. “Search for a GIF on Google”, Images through your mobile browser.
2. Once found, “tap the GIF to open it to full size” (so you don’t see it in search results).
3. «Click on the GIF» until it appears in the menu.
4. On the menu, «Press Save Image».
5. To view the saved GIF, «open the Photos app».
6. The GIF is available on all photos, but to keep them organized, tap the » Albums » icon at the bottom of the screen.
7. Scroll down to the list that says «Types of media» y «touch Animated».

8. You'll have access to all your saved GIFs; from here you can view, share or delete them as you wish.

How to save a GIF on Android

The process of saving a GIF on phones Android It is very similar to downloading GIFs on an iPhone.

1. First you have to find the GIF you want to save to your smartphone Android devices.
2. If you use the search for Google, you can limit the images that appear in search results «selecting GIF» just below the search bar.
3. Hold your finger on the GIF image until a window appears asking you to choose/enter something from a small menu of options.
4. In this case you have two options: «Save the image or 'Download it'». Regardless of which you select, either one will give you the same results and will be downloaded to your Android phone.
5. “Click on any of them” to save the GIF to your phone.
6. You can now find the downloaded GIF in your Gallery. If it is not in your Gallery, you can try searching for it in your Gallery section. Downloads.

How to save a GIF to your computer from a website

If you see a GIF online that you like and decide you want to keep it, you can download the GIF to your computer or phone the same way you would download an image file. Follow these steps to do so:

1. «Select the animated GIF» that you want to download with the right mouse button.
2. «Select Save Image As» on the menu.
3. “Select location” where you want to save the image, keeping the file format as .gif.
4. «Click Save» and the GIF will be downloaded to your device. The steps above should work the same on most desktop browsers.

How to Save a GIF on Mac

As in Windows, save a GIF file to your computer Mac It is equally simple. The process below explains how it can be done in a few simple steps:

1. “Start your Web navigator favorite" on your Mac (Safari for this example).
2. “Then go to your preferred GIF repository” (tenor or Giphy or whatever), and “click on the GIF” you want to download.
3. “Right click on the GIF” that you opened in the previous step and “Click Save Image” as in the context menu that appears. Optionally, you can click MP4 below the GIF to download it as an MP4 file that can be played in your Mac's default media player instead of in a web browser.
4. In the Export As field, “Type a name for the GIF you want to download”, select an option from the left navigation bar and “click Save” in the lower right corner of the box.

How to save a GIF from Twitter

We will show you two options to save a GIF from Twitter:

1. Save a GIF from Twitter on an iPhone

To download or save a GIF from Twitter on your iPhone, you will need to download a third-party app such as GIFwrapped.

1. “Open the Twitter app” and go to the Tweet you want to save your GIF from. “Tap the Share icon” and then «Copy link».
2. “Launch GIFwrapped and tap the search tab”. Paste the URL of the Tweet into the search bar and «press Search» on your keyboard.
3. You will now see your Tweet's GIF in the GIFwrapped gallery on your screen. “Tap the GIF you want to download”.
4. Then «tap the Share icon» at the bottom left of your screen.
5. Now tap on the option "Save to library" from the pop-up menu.
6. Lastly, «select the Save to Library options» o "Save to Photos" to save your GIF.

2. Save a GIF from Twitter on Android

Just like downloading a GIF from an iPhone, you'll need a third-party app to save a GIF from Twitter on Android. You can use an app like Tweet2GIF.

1. After installing the application, “open Twitter”.
2. Go to the Tweet that contains the GIF you want to save and “tap the share button” (it looks like three connected dots).
3. Now «select the Share via option».
4. On the menu «Share via», look for the Tweet2GIF option.
5. Then «click the Download GIF button».
6. It may take a few seconds for the GIF to load. Once it's done, it will automatically be saved to your device.

How to save a GIF from Facebook

We will show you three options to save a GIF from Facebook:

1. Save a Facebook GIF to your desktop

Downloading GIFs from Facebook on PC or Mac system is a fairly simple and straightforward process.

1. “Open the Facebook website in your browser” and go to the GIF you want to download.
2. “Now it’s time for the GIF” and select to open it in another browser window.
3. You will see the GIF in playback mode on the current site, “right click on the GIF” and “choose the option View Image”.
4. You will now be taken out of the website and presented with just the GIF content, right click on the GIF again and you will see the option "Save Image As" Select the option. The GIF will start downloading to your PC.

2. Save a GIF from Facebook on Android

Open the Facebook app and navigate to the GIF you want to download.

1. “Tap the GIF link” in the Facebook app, and the GIF will open in the Facebook app browser.
2. In the Facebook app browser, in the top right corner, you will see a three-dot menu, «tap the menu and select the Open in Chrome option».
3. The Facebook GIF will open in the browser window Google Chrome.
4. In the Chrome window, you can now long press on the GIF to bring up the options menu.
5. A pop-up menu will appear, and you will need to press the option "Download image", and the download will start.

3. How to save a GIF from Facebook on iPhone

Follow these steps:

1. Open the Facebook app on your iPhone.
2. Now go to the GIF you want to download.
3. “Click the link to open the GIF” in the browser.
4. Facebook will open the GIF in your browser's internal window, where you'll see the three-dot menu icon in the top right corner.
5. Press the dot menu to display the options, «click on the Save Image option» from the menu to download the Facebook GIF to your iPhone device.

Share your GIFs on social media with RecurPost

GIFs are gaining immense popularity on social media as they are the perfect way to express emotions when words fail you. If you are a brand and want to share GIFs at set intervals to keep your audience engaged, RecurPost can help you plan a schedule.

RecurPost is a social media scheduler that allows you to schedule social media posts in advance and create a coherent content calendar. You can use it to schedule GIFs on social media alongside other posts.

It offers functions such as programming bulk, advanced analytics, free stock images, white-label reporting, CSV support, unlimited content libraries, workspaces, team management, and much more.

One of its best features is the ability to schedule posts at the best time to post on social media, so you can ensure that your posts will get maximum engagement.

Conclusion

These are the different ways to download and save a GIF from different sources and share it on your social media profiles to entertain your audience or communicate with your family and friends.

If you have a stock of entertaining GIFs ready to go on your social accounts, schedule them for the right times using RecurPost. It is one of the best alternatives to HootSuite and other similar social media scheduling tools with advanced features and affordable pricing.

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