HTML Elements

<video>

HTML element · 3 supported, 2 partial, 16 unsupported across 21 clients

As of Sep 2, 2026, <video> fails or degrades in 18 of 21 email clients, treat it as progressive enhancement, never structure.

0/7 webmail, 3/6 desktop, 0/8 mobile clients support <video> fully.
Unsupported in Gmail, Gmail Android, Gmail iOS, Outlook 365 and 12 more.
Partial in Apple Mail iOS, Samsung Mail, behavior differs from browsers, test before relying on it.
Outlook Classic (Word engine, supported to at least 2029) does not fully support <video>, and its replacement changes little here; see the deprecation diff.
Documented before/after fixes on this page cover 21 clients, including Gmail and Gmail Android.
Across all clients, only 6 of 298 tracked HTML/CSS features render identically everywhere.

Source: caniemail.com (MIT), via the Emailens engine. Last tested upstream Sep 16, 2019, synced by Emailens Sep 2, 2026.

Client Support

Client	Category	Engine	Support
Gmail	webmail	Gmail Web	Unsupported^{See caveat 1}
Gmail Android	mobile	Gmail Mobile	Unsupported^{See caveat 1}
Gmail iOS	mobile	Gmail Mobile	Unsupported^{See caveat 1}
Outlook 365	webmail	Outlook Web	Unsupported^{See caveat 2}
Outlook (New)	desktop	Outlook Web	Unsupported
Outlook Classic	desktop	Microsoft Word	Unsupported
Outlook iOS	mobile	Outlook Mobile	Unsupported^{See caveat 2}
Outlook Android	mobile	Outlook Mobile	Unsupported^{See caveat 2}
Outlook for Mac	desktop	WebKit	Supported
Apple Mail	desktop	WebKit	Supported
Apple Mail iOS	mobile	WebKit	Partial^{See caveat 3}
Yahoo Mail	webmail	Yahoo	Unsupported^{See caveat 4}
Yahoo Mail Android	mobile	Yahoo	Unsupported^{See caveat 4}
Yahoo Mail iOS	mobile	Yahoo	Unsupported^{See caveat 4}
Samsung Mail	mobile	Samsung	Partial^{See caveat 5}
Thunderbird	desktop	Gecko	Supported
HEY Mail	webmail	WebKit	Unsupported
Proton Mail	webmail	Proton	Unsupported^{See caveat 6}
AOL Mail	webmail	AOL	Unsupported^{See caveat 4}
Fastmail	webmail	Fastmail	Unsupported^{See caveat 7}
Superhuman	desktop	Blink	Unsupported

Documented caveats (7)

1.Gmail, Gmail Android, Gmail iOS: <video>, <source> and <track> tags are replaced by <u></u> tags.
2.Outlook 365, Outlook iOS, Outlook Android: The <video> element is supported, but the video can not play due to a strict Content Security Policy.
3.Apple Mail iOS: Partial support. Requires the controls attribute to play. Partial support. autoplay is not supported.
4.Yahoo Mail, Yahoo Mail Android, Yahoo Mail iOS, AOL Mail: <video>, <source> and <track> tags are stripped. The fallback content is shown instead.
5.Samsung Mail: Partial support. Requires the controls attribute to play.
6.Proton Mail: The <video> element is supported and the poster image is visible, but the video can not play due to a strict Content Security Policy.
7.Fastmail: Not supported. The <video> element and all its content is removed.

Caveats recorded by caniemail.com (MIT) and carried verbatim, one entry per wording rather than per client.

Client-by-client behaviour for <video>

Fully supports <video> (3): Outlook for Mac, Apple Mail, Thunderbird.

Partial support (2): Apple Mail iOS, Samsung Mail. Expect rendering quirks unique to each engine. Partial support typically means a subset of values, an ignored shorthand, or sanitizer-specific rewrites.

No support (16): Gmail, Gmail Android, Gmail iOS, Outlook 365, Outlook (New), Outlook Classic, Outlook iOS, Outlook Android, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo Mail Android, Yahoo Mail iOS, HEY Mail, Proton Mail, AOL Mail, Fastmail, Superhuman. Plan fallbacks for these clients before relying on <video> in production sends.

Fixes & Workarounds

Gmail

Unsupported

Use an animated GIF or a static image with a play button linking to the video.

Before (Broken)

before.html

3 lines

<video width="600" autoplay muted>
  <source src="demo.mp4" type="video/mp4">
</video>

After (Fixed)

fixed.html

5 lines

<a href="https://example.com/watch" target="_blank">
  <img src="https://example.com/video-thumb.gif"
    width="600" alt="Watch the video"
    style="display: block; border: 0; max-width: 100%;" />
</a>

Replace video with animated GIF or linked thumbnail

Gmail Android

Unsupported

Use an animated GIF or a static image with a play button linking to the video.

Before (Broken)

before.html

3 lines

<video width="600" autoplay muted>
  <source src="demo.mp4" type="video/mp4">
</video>

After (Fixed)

fixed.html

5 lines

<a href="https://example.com/watch" target="_blank">
  <img src="https://example.com/video-thumb.gif"
    width="600" alt="Watch the video"
    style="display: block; border: 0; max-width: 100%;" />
</a>

Replace video with animated GIF or linked thumbnail

Gmail iOS

Unsupported

Use an animated GIF or a static image with a play button linking to the video.

Before (Broken)

before.html

3 lines

<video width="600" autoplay muted>
  <source src="demo.mp4" type="video/mp4">
</video>

After (Fixed)

fixed.html

5 lines

<a href="https://example.com/watch" target="_blank">
  <img src="https://example.com/video-thumb.gif"
    width="600" alt="Watch the video"
    style="display: block; border: 0; max-width: 100%;" />
</a>

Replace video with animated GIF or linked thumbnail

Outlook 365

Unsupported

Use an animated GIF or a static image with a play button linking to the video.

Before (Broken)

before.html

3 lines

<video width="600" autoplay muted>
  <source src="demo.mp4" type="video/mp4">
</video>

After (Fixed)

fixed.html

5 lines

<a href="https://example.com/watch" target="_blank">
  <img src="https://example.com/video-thumb.gif"
    width="600" alt="Watch the video"
    style="display: block; border: 0; max-width: 100%;" />
</a>

Replace video with animated GIF or linked thumbnail

Outlook (New)

Unsupported

Use an animated GIF or a static image with a play button linking to the video.

Before (Broken)

before.html

3 lines

<video width="600" autoplay muted>
  <source src="demo.mp4" type="video/mp4">
</video>

After (Fixed)

fixed.html

5 lines

<a href="https://example.com/watch" target="_blank">
  <img src="https://example.com/video-thumb.gif"
    width="600" alt="Watch the video"
    style="display: block; border: 0; max-width: 100%;" />
</a>

Replace video with animated GIF or linked thumbnail

Outlook Classic

Unsupported

Use an animated GIF or a static image with a play button linking to the video.

Before (Broken)

before.html

3 lines

<video width="600" autoplay muted>
  <source src="demo.mp4" type="video/mp4">
</video>

After (Fixed)

fixed.html

5 lines

<a href="https://example.com/watch" target="_blank">
  <img src="https://example.com/video-thumb.gif"
    width="600" alt="Watch the video"
    style="display: block; border: 0; max-width: 100%;" />
</a>

Replace video with animated GIF or linked thumbnail

Outlook iOS

Unsupported

Use an animated GIF or a static image with a play button linking to the video.

Before (Broken)

before.html

3 lines

<video width="600" autoplay muted>
  <source src="demo.mp4" type="video/mp4">
</video>

After (Fixed)

fixed.html

5 lines

<a href="https://example.com/watch" target="_blank">
  <img src="https://example.com/video-thumb.gif"
    width="600" alt="Watch the video"
    style="display: block; border: 0; max-width: 100%;" />
</a>

Replace video with animated GIF or linked thumbnail

Outlook Android

Unsupported

Use an animated GIF or a static image with a play button linking to the video.

Before (Broken)

before.html

3 lines

<video width="600" autoplay muted>
  <source src="demo.mp4" type="video/mp4">
</video>

After (Fixed)

fixed.html

5 lines

<a href="https://example.com/watch" target="_blank">
  <img src="https://example.com/video-thumb.gif"
    width="600" alt="Watch the video"
    style="display: block; border: 0; max-width: 100%;" />
</a>

Replace video with animated GIF or linked thumbnail

Yahoo Mail

Unsupported

Use an animated GIF or a static image with a play button linking to the video.

Before (Broken)

before.html

3 lines

<video width="600" autoplay muted>
  <source src="demo.mp4" type="video/mp4">
</video>

After (Fixed)

fixed.html

5 lines

<a href="https://example.com/watch" target="_blank">
  <img src="https://example.com/video-thumb.gif"
    width="600" alt="Watch the video"
    style="display: block; border: 0; max-width: 100%;" />
</a>

Replace video with animated GIF or linked thumbnail

Yahoo Mail Android

Unsupported

Use an animated GIF or a static image with a play button linking to the video.

Before (Broken)

before.html

3 lines

<video width="600" autoplay muted>
  <source src="demo.mp4" type="video/mp4">
</video>

After (Fixed)

fixed.html

5 lines

<a href="https://example.com/watch" target="_blank">
  <img src="https://example.com/video-thumb.gif"
    width="600" alt="Watch the video"
    style="display: block; border: 0; max-width: 100%;" />
</a>

Replace video with animated GIF or linked thumbnail

Yahoo Mail iOS

Unsupported

Use an animated GIF or a static image with a play button linking to the video.

Before (Broken)

before.html

3 lines

<video width="600" autoplay muted>
  <source src="demo.mp4" type="video/mp4">
</video>

After (Fixed)

fixed.html

5 lines

<a href="https://example.com/watch" target="_blank">
  <img src="https://example.com/video-thumb.gif"
    width="600" alt="Watch the video"
    style="display: block; border: 0; max-width: 100%;" />
</a>

Replace video with animated GIF or linked thumbnail

HEY Mail

Unsupported

Use an animated GIF or a static image with a play button linking to the video.

Before (Broken)

before.html

3 lines

<video width="600" autoplay muted>
  <source src="demo.mp4" type="video/mp4">
</video>

After (Fixed)

fixed.html

5 lines

<a href="https://example.com/watch" target="_blank">
  <img src="https://example.com/video-thumb.gif"
    width="600" alt="Watch the video"
    style="display: block; border: 0; max-width: 100%;" />
</a>

Replace video with animated GIF or linked thumbnail

Proton Mail

Unsupported

Use an animated GIF or a static image with a play button linking to the video.

Before (Broken)

before.html

3 lines

<video width="600" autoplay muted>
  <source src="demo.mp4" type="video/mp4">
</video>

After (Fixed)

fixed.html

5 lines

<a href="https://example.com/watch" target="_blank">
  <img src="https://example.com/video-thumb.gif"
    width="600" alt="Watch the video"
    style="display: block; border: 0; max-width: 100%;" />
</a>

Replace video with animated GIF or linked thumbnail

AOL Mail

Unsupported

Use an animated GIF or a static image with a play button linking to the video.

Before (Broken)

before.html

3 lines

<video width="600" autoplay muted>
  <source src="demo.mp4" type="video/mp4">
</video>

After (Fixed)

fixed.html

5 lines

<a href="https://example.com/watch" target="_blank">
  <img src="https://example.com/video-thumb.gif"
    width="600" alt="Watch the video"
    style="display: block; border: 0; max-width: 100%;" />
</a>

Replace video with animated GIF or linked thumbnail

Fastmail

Unsupported

Use an animated GIF or a static image with a play button linking to the video.

Before (Broken)

before.html

3 lines

<video width="600" autoplay muted>
  <source src="demo.mp4" type="video/mp4">
</video>

After (Fixed)

fixed.html

5 lines

<a href="https://example.com/watch" target="_blank">
  <img src="https://example.com/video-thumb.gif"
    width="600" alt="Watch the video"
    style="display: block; border: 0; max-width: 100%;" />
</a>

Replace video with animated GIF or linked thumbnail

Superhuman

Unsupported

Use an animated GIF or a static image with a play button linking to the video.

Before (Broken)

before.html

3 lines

<video width="600" autoplay muted>
  <source src="demo.mp4" type="video/mp4">
</video>

After (Fixed)

fixed.html

5 lines

<a href="https://example.com/watch" target="_blank">
  <img src="https://example.com/video-thumb.gif"
    width="600" alt="Watch the video"
    style="display: block; border: 0; max-width: 100%;" />
</a>

Replace video with animated GIF or linked thumbnail

Apple Mail iOS

Partial

Use an animated GIF or a static image with a play button linking to the video.

Before (Broken)

before.html

3 lines

<video width="600" autoplay muted>
  <source src="demo.mp4" type="video/mp4">
</video>

After (Fixed)

fixed.html

5 lines

<a href="https://example.com/watch" target="_blank">
  <img src="https://example.com/video-thumb.gif"
    width="600" alt="Watch the video"
    style="display: block; border: 0; max-width: 100%;" />
</a>

Replace video with animated GIF or linked thumbnail

Samsung Mail

Partial

Use an animated GIF or a static image with a play button linking to the video.

Before (Broken)

before.html

3 lines

<video width="600" autoplay muted>
  <source src="demo.mp4" type="video/mp4">
</video>

After (Fixed)

fixed.html

5 lines

<a href="https://example.com/watch" target="_blank">
  <img src="https://example.com/video-thumb.gif"
    width="600" alt="Watch the video"
    style="display: block; border: 0; max-width: 100%;" />
</a>

Replace video with animated GIF or linked thumbnail

Production guidance for <video>

<video> is a HTML element. Across the email client matrix, 3 of 21 tracked clients support it fully, 2 only partially, and 16 not at all. The clients most likely to require a workaround for this feature are Gmail, Gmail Android, Gmail iOS. Each of them needs a tailored fallback. See the per-client examples above for the specific code fix Emailens recommends.

When in doubt, ship a baseline that renders without <video> and treat it as progressive enhancement on clients where support is verified. Emailens automatically detects cross-client divergence on this feature when you preview an email, so you can see exactly which template paths break before a campaign goes out.

Related Features

Check your own HTML for <video>

Paste your own, or run the sample below. Analyzed in this page, with no signup and nothing stored.

Zero-Friction Engine Preview

Test your <video> layout across 21 email clients

Preview rendering, catch CSS issues, and see how <video> displays across Outlook, Gmail, and Apple Mail. Free, no account needed.

Instant live preview · No signup required · 21 email engines

Last tested upstream: Sep 16, 2019 · Last synced by Emailens: Sep 2, 2026

caniemail.com (MIT) records Sep 16, 2019 as the last time <video> was tested in a real client, 6 years before this sync. Syncing copies that result forward, it does not re-test it. Carried in @emailens/engine data v0.12.2.