How to save a Twitter (X) video to your iPhone camera roll

Downloading an X video on an iPhone is quick. The step that trips people up comes after: Safari puts downloads in the Files app, not in Photos, so the video seems to disappear. Here is the whole route, from the X app to your camera roll, for iPhone and iPad.

Step by step

1. Copy the post's link in the X app. Tap the share icon under the post, then Copy link.
2. Open twitdownloader.dev in Safari. Long-press the link field near the top, choose Paste, then tap Download.
3. Tap a quality, then Download. Pick the first, highlighted option for the best picture. Safari asks whether to download the file: tap Download.
4. Open the video in Files. Tap the Downloads button next to Safari's address field, then the video. Or open the Files app and go to Browse › iCloud Drive › Downloads.
5. Save it to Photos. With the video open, tap the share icon and choose Save Video. It now sits in your camera roll with your other videos.

Where did the download go?

Safari keeps a list of recent downloads behind the Downloads button, which appears next to the address field once a download starts. Tap it to see the video and open it.

The file itself lives in the Files app. Open Files, tap Browse, then iCloud Drive, then Downloads. If you have changed where Safari saves downloads, look in that folder instead: the setting is under Settings › Safari › Downloads, or Settings › Apps › Safari › Downloads on newer versions of iOS.

Moving it into Photos

Open the video in Files, tap the share icon and choose Save Video. The copy in Photos is the same file, so nothing is lost in quality. Once it is in your camera roll, you can delete the original from Downloads to free up the space.

GIFs from X download as MP4 videos and save to Photos the same way. They play as a short silent video rather than as an animation that loops on its own.

Using Chrome or another browser on iPhone

Chrome, Firefox and Edge on iPhone also download to the Files app, usually into a folder named after the browser under On My iPhone. The route to Photos is the same: open the file in Files, tap Share, then Save Video.

A faster way to open a post

If you are reading X in Safari rather than the app, change x.com in the address bar to twitdownloader.dev and tap Go. The downloader opens with the post already looked up, so you can go straight to choosing a quality.

If it will not download

• Nothing happens when you tap a quality: check for a Safari prompt at the top of the screen asking to allow the download, and tap Download.
• "Protected account" or "Hidden from signed-out visitors": X does not show the post publicly, so it cannot be downloaded.
• Not enough storage: pick a lower quality. Each option shows an estimated file size.
• Anything else: the troubleshooting answers explain every message the downloader can show.