X GIFs,either way.
X converts every uploaded GIF into a silent, looping MP4. That is why right-click Save Image gives you a still frame. Take the MP4 as-is, or get a real .gif back.
Why saving a GIF from X gives you a still image
There are no GIFs on X. Upload one and it is transcoded to H.264 in an MP4 container, stripped of audio and flagged to loop. The player then presents it as a GIF. Right-clicking saves the poster frame because that is the only image on the page — the motion lives in a video element.
So the highest-fidelity save is the MP4 itself: a fraction of the size of a GIF at far better colour depth. Convert to .gif only when the destination demands the format — a 256-colour palette and no interframe audio makes it strictly worse and several times larger.
Questions
- Why is my saved GIF a photo?
- Because X serves GIFs as looping MP4s and right-click only sees the poster frame. Paste the post link here instead.
- Should I pick MP4 or .gif?
- MP4 unless the place you are posting to only accepts .gif. It is smaller and looks better.
- Where did the sound go?
- X strips audio from anything flagged as a GIF. There is nothing to recover — it was removed at upload.
More in help, field notes and the archive.