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Twitter: GIFs on DM (Direct Message) show up as black screen, can't save them

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I am having a problem trying to see and save a GIF image. As you know, if you click on a GIF on Twitter, you will just get a black screen. The problem is easy to solve by using a 3rd party site like EZGIF. But what if the image was uploaded to DM?

I have a GIF file that was given to me through Direct Message, and just like before, I get a black screen. However, because the post was sent to me privately, I have no idea how to save it. Unlike public posts, Direct Messages do not have a singular link that EZGIF can detect (eg. public posts have the "status" word in the URL, DMs do not), The only way I can now see GIFs of any kind on Twitter is to see them in my mobile device, an Apple iPod Touch or iPod Mini, but as far as I know, none of them allow me to save the GIF, only view it.

How can I see a GIF file that is on my DM, and save it while overcoming the dreaded Twitter glitch?

I am having a problem trying to see and save a GIF image. As you know, if you click on a GIF on Twitter, you will just get a black screen. The problem is easy to solve by using a 3rd party site like EZGIF. But what if the image was uploaded to DM? I have a GIF file that was given to me through Direct Message, and just like before, I get a black screen. However, because the post was sent to me privately, I have no idea how to save it. Unlike public posts, Direct Messages do not have a singular link that EZGIF can detect (eg. public posts have the "status" word in the URL, DMs do not), The only way I can now see GIFs of any kind on Twitter is to see them in my mobile device, an Apple iPod Touch or iPod Mini, but as far as I know, none of them allow me to save the GIF, only view it. How can I see a GIF file that is on my DM, and save it while overcoming the dreaded Twitter glitch?

All Replies (7)

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Is this the method you're using:

https://ezgif.com/help/saving-gifs-from-twitter

I don't think the GIF/video should be black in Firefox in the first place. That's odd.

In their example, they reference this tweet:

https://twitter.com/YahooTech/status/641234556025184256

Yours doesn't show the video playing, just a black rectangle?

If you right-click the black area, does your context menu have the Copy Video Location option? If it does, you can paste that into the video-to-GIF converter at

https://ezgif.com/video-to-gif

If not, well, maybe we can solve the video not playing issue.

Is Twitter the only site where videos don't play?

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That is correct, just the black rectangle.

I actually do not have the "Copy Video Location" option when I right-click it.

And it's just Twitter.

EDIT: I had my sister sent me an example (censored for privacy). Here's what it looks like before, then after:

Modified by no1wammy

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If you right-click the black area, or Shift+right-click it, what kind of context menu do you get? I'm attaching an example.

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Save Page As... Save Page To Pocket Send Page To Device (continues) View Background Image Select All View Page Source View Page Info Inspect Element Take A Snapshot NoScript AdBlocker Ultimate

I know for a fact neither of the plugins are at fault. I loaded Firefox in Safe Mode prior to submitting this post, and the same problems occurred even with Safe Mode.

EDIT: Whoops, misread your original post. It's the same thing as what you posted.

Modified by no1wammy

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After the EDIT, I'm not completely certain what you see. It sounds as though you get the "video" menu even when the video won't play? I don't know why it won't play; possibly some anti-autoplay feature is kicking in. But if you do get the video menu, hopefully you have Copy Video Location for the workaround.

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Yes, I was able to find it. But that would mean saving the file and sending it to EZGIF for conversion, and I honestly would prefer avoiding the hassle. There has to be an easier way, but it seems like Twitter will never accommodate for Firefox users.

On a side note: I tried Opera, and it too was hampered by the same Twitter bug. I refuse to do Chrome because the last time I tried using that app, my computer crashed.

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I don't think you need to save the file first. What I did for testing was:

right-click > Copy Video Location

Then paste the address into their converter page at https://ezgif.com/video-to-gif


I still don't know why the video doesn't play for you automatically or when you click the black area.