A Twitter Image Downloader That Keeps the Original
Pictures on X look sharp in the timeline, but long-pressing or right-clicking one usually saves a scaled-down copy, and a screenshot is worse still. This Twitter image downloader goes to the source instead. Paste the link of a public post and it lists every photo attached to it, each in the sizes X keeps, so you can download Twitter images at the resolution they were posted.
It works as a Twitter photo downloader and X image downloader on any device, with no app, no extension and no account. The file comes straight from X's image servers: no watermark, no extra compression, and a readable file name that includes the post it came from.
How X Stores the Pictures You See
When a photo is posted, X saves the upload and makes smaller copies of it for different screens. The timeline, the image viewer and link previews each load whichever copy suits them, which is why a picture saved from the page is rarely the biggest one. The downloader asks X for all of them and lists them as Original, Large, Medium and Small. A size only appears when it differs from the others, so a small picture may show just one option.
Original is the largest version X has. It matches the upload unless the image was bigger than X accepts, in which case X scaled it down when it was posted. No downloader can recover detail that X never kept, so be wary of any site that offers a Twitter photo in a resolution above the original.
Which Size to Download
- Original for printing, editing, wallpapers or archiving. It is the best copy available anywhere.
- Large for sharing in chats or on other sites, where the app will shrink the picture again anyway.
- Medium and Small when you only need a preview, or want to save space and mobile data.
Most pictures download as JPG, because X re-encodes most uploads in that format. Some images, often graphics, are kept as PNG and download as PNG. A post can hold up to 4 photos; each is numbered in the order it appears on X and has its own buttons, so you save each image from the tweet separately, in the size you choose. If the post has a video instead, its cover image is offered as a JPEG thumbnail.
Saving Twitter Photos on iPhone, Android and PC
On iPhone and iPad, Safari keeps the download in the Files app. Open the picture there, tap the share icon and choose Save Image to move it into Photos. On Android, Chrome and Samsung Internet save to the Downloads folder, and the picture shows up in Google Photos or the Gallery app soon after. On Windows, Mac and Chromebook, it lands in your browser's usual download folder. The same steps work for videos, covered in our guide to saving Twitter videos to the iPhone camera roll.
What This Image Downloader Cannot Save
- Profile pictures and header banners, which are not attached to a post.
- Images sent in direct messages.
- Photos from protected accounts, or posts X hides from signed-out visitors.
- Pictures in link preview cards, which belong to the website being linked.
- Photos from deleted posts or suspended accounts.
If a lookup fails, the message under the box explains why, and the troubleshooting answers cover each case.
Using Downloaded Images Fairly
A photo on X belongs to the person who took or made it. Keeping a copy for yourself is one thing; posting it elsewhere as your own, or using it commercially, needs the owner's permission. When you want to share a picture, linking to the original post credits its creator. For videos from the same posts, use the Twitter video downloader on the homepage.