Some iPhone users say Google Chrome saves GIFs as still photos after iOS 14 update; several Safari users affected too

iPhone users making use of the Google Chrome browser seem to be having a hard time with GIFs on iOS. While the images download just fine, they are saved as a static image, usually of the first frame.

And users are frustrated, leading to a slew of complaints on the official Apple forums as well as Reddit.

Anyone else having this infuriating issue. On iPhone iOS14, possibly a bit before, GIFs downloaded from Google Chrome Mobile only save as stills. Can download GIFs from Safari/GIF apps. But Chrome no longer saves them to photos correctly. So, annoying. Not looking to have to use a different browser
Source

iPhone not saving GIFs anymore? I have updated my phone to the most recent, which is iOS 14, and I use the Chrome app to save images and gifs, but now the gifs just show up in my library as the first frame only.
Source

While many users have stated that the issue only began for them after the recent iOS 14 update, there are plenty of others that were facing the issue even on iOS 13.

Several complainants have also observed that the issue disappears upon downloading the same GIF using Apple’s Safari browser.

This doesn’t hold true for everyone though, as there are quite a few who are facing the problem on both Safari and Chrome.

Hence, it does seem that a recent iOS update is not to be blamed for the issue. A likelier culprit could be a bad Google Chrome update that still hasn’t been rectified.

It won’t work if you use Chrome, but will work if you use Safari. Just another one of those things that makes me want to switch back to Samsung Galaxy.
Source

For now, your only workaround could be simply copying the link from your Chrome browser that contains the GIF, and pasting it in the Safari browser’s address bar. You can then try saving it. This reportedly worked for several users.

You can also try using some other browser like Firefox or Opera.

However, if it does not seem to work for you, then it could be possible that the site is blocking you from saving GIFs, or that the images are getting saved in a WebP format.

And if that indeed is the case, then there is not much you can do. Hopefully, Google/Apple will acknowledge the matter soon.

With that being said, be sure to check out our dedicated iOS 14 bugs/issues tracker for further coverage on issues like these along with their workarounds, if any.

PiunikaWeb started as purely an investigative tech journalism website with main focus on ‘breaking’ or ‘exclusive’ news. In no time, our stories got picked up by the likes of Forbes, Foxnews, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Engadget, The Verge, Macrumors, and many others. Want to know more about us? Head here.