How to Download Photos on the Web and Save to the iPad

Updated November 13, 2019

The iPad makes it extremely easy to download photos and images on the web to the iPad. This is also true for photos sent to you in email and pictures you see in popular social media apps like Facebook and Twitter. However, not all websites are quite so friendly when it comes to saving images to your iPad. Whether they are trying to protect copyrighted photos or simply aren't very tablet friendly, the website may block your attempt to download the image. However, there's an easy workaround to that as well.

How to Download Photos to the iPad:

First, locate the photo you want to save. You can save from the Mail app, the Safari Browser, Facebook, etc. Place your finger on the photo and hold it on the image until a menu pops up on the screen. Tap Save Photo to download it.

In Safari, the menu may include options such as "Open in a New Tab" or "Add to Reading List" when the image is also a link to another webpage.
In apps like Facebook or Twitter, you will need to click on the photo to display it full screen before you can download it.

Some apps may prompt you to grant permission to your Camera Roll before you can save an image.
This process works the same in every app that supports it.

If You Can't Save an Image

While many websites and apps support this feature, some notable exceptions exist, including Instagram and Pinterest. But you can still save images that you want with a screenshot.

Before you snap the screenshot, try expanding the image to fill the screen by using the pinch-to-zoom gesture.

Some apps, like Instagram, also have a full-screen toggle button if they don't display that way by default.
Hold down the Sleep/Wake button at the top of the iPad and the Home button at the same time. The screen will flash when you've successfully taken the screenshot.
After you take a screenshot, the photo should appear on the bottom-left side of the display as a thumbnail image. Tap this photo to edit it before saving or swipe it off the screen to save it.

When you tap the preview and go into edit mode, you can drag the tags at the sides and corners of the screen to crop the photo. Press Done when you've finished cropping the screenshot.
You can also edit the photo in the Photos app.

Where Does the Photo Go?

The "Camera Roll" is the default album in the Photos app for storing all of your photos and movies. You can get to this album by opening Photos, tapping the Albums button at the bottom of the screen, and tapping Camera Roll.