Why do images disappear from X drafts? A clear explanation of the causes and fixes

X (Twitter) has a feature that lets you save a post you are still writing as a draft so that you can post it later, but sometimes the images attached to a draft post disappear, or when you open a draft, only the text remains and the images are gone.

In this article, we will explain why images in draft posts disappear and introduce the causes and fixes.

Why do images disappear from X drafts?

The main reason images attached to X drafts disappear is that text and media are not handled in the same way when saving post drafts on X.

X had a draft feature at least as far back as around 2015, but more recently, a feature was implemented to sync drafts across the iOS app, Android app, and the web client.

X adds synced drafts between iOS and the Web, coming to Android soon

Nikita Bier, Head of Product at X (Twitter), announced on his X account that the iOS app now includes a feature to sync drafts with the web version. Bier says draft sync is coming to the Android app soon.

October 14, 2025

However, X's head of product, Nikita Bier, has stated that draft media sync is not supported.

According to user testing, when you attach media and save a draft on the web client, the media is also synced to drafts in the app, whereas when you attach media and save a draft in the app, the media is not synced to the web.

Although this is only a hypothesis, based on this behavior, it seems likely that in X's web client, media is uploaded to and stored on X's servers at the time the draft is saved, whereas in the app, simply saving the draft does not upload the media, so it is not synced to other devices.

Based on this hypothesis, in the X app, if the reference to media stored on the device is broken for some reason, it may appear as though the image has disappeared from the draft.

Because of these causes, even if images or videos were attached when you saved a post as a draft, it can happen that when you later check the draft, that media is gone.

Furthermore, although this has not been verified, as a possibility only, even if media is uploaded to the server when saving a draft on the web, it may be deleted from the server after being left unused for a while in order to reduce storage usage.

In summary, cases where images or videos appear to have disappeared from drafts likely mainly include the following:

1. You saved a draft in the app, but the image that should have been attached is gone
2. The image attached to the draft is displayed on the device where the draft was saved, but not on other devices
3. You saved a draft on the web version, but the image that should have been attached is gone

The first case is where media is not uploaded to the server when saving a draft in the X app, so if the reference to the media is broken for some reason, the image disappears from the draft.

The second case is where syncing of media attached to drafts is not officially supported.

The third case is where media is uploaded to the server when saving a draft on the web, but it may be deleted from the server if it remains unused for a while.

In the first place, X drafts themselves can disappear due to some kind of trouble, so regardless of whether media is attached, it is better to save important draft text and media somewhere else as well.

Cases where draft images are more likely to disappear

Based on the causes of disappearing draft images described above, images and videos attached to drafts are thought to be more likely to disappear in the following situations.

When using multiple devices

The situation in which media attached to a post draft is most likely to disappear is when multiple devices are involved.

For example, if you create a draft with an image in the app and later open it on the web, the draft may show only the text and not the image.

Likewise, if you create a draft with an image in the app and later open it in the app on another device, the image may not be displayed.

This is because syncing of post draft text is supported, but syncing media inside app drafts to other clients is not supported.

After a restart or update

As mentioned above, in X web client, media is uploaded to the server when a draft is saved, but in the app, simply saving a draft does not upload the media to the server.

The media in drafts created in the app may be in a state where a reference to media on the device is temporarily saved, and it may disappear when the app or smartphone is restarted or updated.

In particular, you need to be careful if you leave a saved draft untouched for a long period of time.

When the original image data is deleted

In the X app, media is not uploaded to the server when a draft is saved, so if you delete the attached image or video from the device, the reference is broken and the media also disappears from the draft.

When the connection is unstable

If you close the page while the media attached to the draft is still being uploaded, the upload process may be interrupted midway, which could result in only the image being lost when you reopen it later.

Can disappeared images be restored?

If an image or video that should have been saved in a draft disappears, can it be restored?

Unfortunately, in many cases, it is likely difficult to restore images or videos that have disappeared from a draft.

However, in the following cases, you can restore the media that was attached to the draft.

• When the original data remains on the device
• When it is displayed on another device

In the former case, the issue is resolved by uploading the original data again.

In the latter case, we recommend posting it immediately in the environment where the media is displayed.

What to do when a draft image disappears

When media attached to a draft disappears, it is a good idea to check in the following order.

1. Check whether the original data remains on the device

2. Try opening the same draft on another device or in another environment

3. Clear the app or browser cache, or restart it

First, if the original data remains on the device, there is no problem as long as you attach that data again and post it.

Even if the data does not remain on the device, the media may still remain if you open the draft on another device or in another environment.

In particular, if you created the draft in the app and are opening the draft on a device other than the one used to save it, the media may simply not be synced.

In such cases, the media may be displayed if you open the draft on the device that was used when it was saved.

How to prevent draft images from disappearing

To prevent media from disappearing from X post drafts, the following measures are helpful.

• Post from the same device without switching devices
• Do not leave drafts untouched for a long time
• Do not rely only on drafts

Because media sync is not supported when saving drafts in the app, if you are using the app, make sure to post from the same device on which you saved the draft.

Also, do not leave drafts untouched for a long period of time.

In the app, the reference to media on the device may be broken for some reason, and in the web version, it cannot be ruled out that draft media may be deleted from the server.

More fundamentally, it is also important not to rely only on X's draft feature.

X drafts are not suitable for long-term storage, and there is a possibility that draft text or media may be deleted for some reason.

We recommend saving important draft text in a notes app or elsewhere, and also keeping the media data you plan to attach.

Conclusion

We explained the causes and fixes for cases where images attached to draft posts on X disappear, or when you open a draft and only the text remains while the image is gone.

Because the X app does not upload media to the server when saving drafts, media may disappear from drafts when you open them on another device or when the reference to the media is broken for some reason.

Also, even on the web version, media may disappear if drafts are left untouched for a long period of time, so caution is necessary.