4 ms·

Great, so I can download it, but then I have to convert it to a different format before half my apps will be able to use it.

wltr 1y ago
Maybe the issue is with your operating system then?
- jdiff 1y ago
  App support has very little to do with the operating system. OSes by and large will preview it just fine.
  - dinkblam 1y ago
    on the contrary. on macOS apps don't have to support image (or movie) formats. it is done by the system and transparently handled by the APIs. apps automatically gain new formats when the system adds it.
    - reaperducer 1y ago
      The unfortunate side effect of this convenience is that apps automatically lose image support when macOS chases to no longer support them, too. One example is Sony's SRF camera raw format. Programs like Photoshop and Affinity have to bring their own decoders where previously none were required.
      - dspillett 1y ago
        And having to bring in support for formats that are deprecated by the OS, if they decide to keep supporting that format as there is sufficient demand from their users, is worse than having to bring in support for all formats rather than getting support from the OS? Having ask that in a slightly confrontational way, one of the reasons I started using VLC all those years ago, and still use it to this day, was having trouble with other media players that relied on OS support fail to work well (or at all) with some codecs, while VLC brought support for them, and their dog, built-in and reliable. Dragging your own format support libraries with you can be beneficial.
  - wltr 1y ago
    I meant Windows, as macOS and Linux are usually good with modern things. It’s trivial to add the support if you don’t have it. I have no idea about Windows, but I got this vibe of someone using Win7 in 2025 and complaining the world moved on and keeps moving on.
- echelon 1y ago
  You can't use webp on Reddit, Instagram, and hundreds of other websites. Which is ironic because some of them serve images as webp.
  - wltr 1y ago
    That doesn’t mean it’s dead, it rather shows sheer incompetence of the web dev departments of these wonderful companies for whom webp or avif aren’t images, I guess.
    - PaulHoule 1y ago
      Instagram's image uploading interface is klunky compared to Mastodon which is entirely unfunded.
      - echelon 1y ago
        This shows the unfortunate power of distribution. It doesn't matter if the alternative is technically superior once the majority use the mainstream thing.
  - socalgal2 1y ago
    Just tested reddit. It works fine with .webp I don't have an instagram account
    - echelon 1y ago
      Try https://www.reddit.com/settings/profile https://www.reddit.com/settings/profile There are so many uneven areas of Reddit where WebP doesn't work. Old reddit, profile support, mod tools, etc.
      - kccqzy 1y ago
        I'm convinced that this is because of the prevalent MVP culture in modern software engineering. Instead of holistically looking at a new feature request such as "support webp images" we break it down into parts (e.g. "serve webp" "accept webp upload here" "accept webp upload there") and then we call it a MVP when only the highest priority items are done.
BeFlatXIII 1y ago
Or convert before you upload because the image host has delusions about fighting the Google monoculture by refusing WebP support. Even more of a head scratcher when WebM is their only video format.
PaulHoule 1y ago
Blame Adobe. For what they charge for Creative Suite it ought to have supported it a long time ago. My webcrawler sucks down a lot of WebP images, at least it did before it got the smackdown from Cloudflare.
- martin_a 1y ago
  Adobe Photoshop has support for WebP (through "Save as", not "Export") but I don't think WebP is important.
  - whywhywhywhy 1y ago
    But it can’t open them
    - martin_a 1y ago
      Not sure if that's version specific, but my one can (version 26.7.0) without any issues or warnings. Tried with this sample file: https://www.gstatic.com/webp/gallery/1.webp https://www.gstatic.com/webp/gallery/1.webp
    - williamscales 1y ago
      Looks Photoshop has since v23.2 in 2022.
    - asadotzler 1y ago
      My PS can open them. Maybe update?
lizknope 1y ago
I was about to write that Slack doesn't support webp but I just tested it and it does. For years I have been typing "convert file.webp file.jpg" and then posting that in slack but it looks like they have added support.
jeroenhd 1y ago
Everything I've tried supports WebPs. It took Adobe a while but even Photoshop supports the format these days. Hell, for some software features (like stickers in some chat apps), WebP is mandatory. HEIFF files, on the other hand...

wltr 1y ago

Maybe the issue is with your operating system then?

jdiff 1y ago
App support has very little to do with the operating system. OSes by and large will preview it just fine.
- dinkblam 1y ago
  on the contrary. on macOS apps don't have to support image (or movie) formats. it is done by the system and transparently handled by the APIs. apps automatically gain new formats when the system adds it.
  - reaperducer 1y ago
    The unfortunate side effect of this convenience is that apps automatically lose image support when macOS chases to no longer support them, too. One example is Sony's SRF camera raw format. Programs like Photoshop and Affinity have to bring their own decoders where previously none were required.
    - dspillett 1y ago
      And having to bring in support for formats that are deprecated by the OS, if they decide to keep supporting that format as there is sufficient demand from their users, is worse than having to bring in support for all formats rather than getting support from the OS? Having ask that in a slightly confrontational way, one of the reasons I started using VLC all those years ago, and still use it to this day, was having trouble with other media players that relied on OS support fail to work well (or at all) with some codecs, while VLC brought support for them, and their dog, built-in and reliable. Dragging your own format support libraries with you can be beneficial.
- wltr 1y ago
  I meant Windows, as macOS and Linux are usually good with modern things. It’s trivial to add the support if you don’t have it. I have no idea about Windows, but I got this vibe of someone using Win7 in 2025 and complaining the world moved on and keeps moving on.
echelon 1y ago
You can't use webp on Reddit, Instagram, and hundreds of other websites. Which is ironic because some of them serve images as webp.
- wltr 1y ago
  That doesn’t mean it’s dead, it rather shows sheer incompetence of the web dev departments of these wonderful companies for whom webp or avif aren’t images, I guess.
  - PaulHoule 1y ago
    Instagram's image uploading interface is klunky compared to Mastodon which is entirely unfunded.
    - echelon 1y ago
      This shows the unfortunate power of distribution. It doesn't matter if the alternative is technically superior once the majority use the mainstream thing.
- socalgal2 1y ago
  Just tested reddit. It works fine with .webp I don't have an instagram account
  - echelon 1y ago
    Try https://www.reddit.com/settings/profile https://www.reddit.com/settings/profile There are so many uneven areas of Reddit where WebP doesn't work. Old reddit, profile support, mod tools, etc.
    - kccqzy 1y ago
      I'm convinced that this is because of the prevalent MVP culture in modern software engineering. Instead of holistically looking at a new feature request such as "support webp images" we break it down into parts (e.g. "serve webp" "accept webp upload here" "accept webp upload there") and then we call it a MVP when only the highest priority items are done.

BeFlatXIII 1y ago

Or convert before you upload because the image host has delusions about fighting the Google monoculture by refusing WebP support. Even more of a head scratcher when WebM is their only video format.

PaulHoule 1y ago

Blame Adobe. For what they charge for Creative Suite it ought to have supported it a long time ago. My webcrawler sucks down a lot of WebP images, at least it did before it got the smackdown from Cloudflare.

martin_a 1y ago
Adobe Photoshop has support for WebP (through "Save as", not "Export") but I don't think WebP is important.
- whywhywhywhy 1y ago
  But it can’t open them
  - martin_a 1y ago
    Not sure if that's version specific, but my one can (version 26.7.0) without any issues or warnings. Tried with this sample file: https://www.gstatic.com/webp/gallery/1.webp https://www.gstatic.com/webp/gallery/1.webp
  - williamscales 1y ago
    Looks Photoshop has since v23.2 in 2022.
  - asadotzler 1y ago
    My PS can open them. Maybe update?

lizknope 1y ago

I was about to write that Slack doesn't support webp but I just tested it and it does. For years I have been typing "convert file.webp file.jpg" and then posting that in slack but it looks like they have added support.

jeroenhd 1y ago

Everything I've tried supports WebPs. It took Adobe a while but even Photoshop supports the format these days. Hell, for some software features (like stickers in some chat apps), WebP is mandatory. HEIFF files, on the other hand...