diff --git a/lib/helpers/gif_helper.dart b/lib/helpers/gif_helper.dart
index ce2b3f3..f97ee3a 100644
--- a/lib/helpers/gif_helper.dart
+++ b/lib/helpers/gif_helper.dart
@@ -34,8 +34,13 @@ class GifHelper {
     return pageMatch?.group(1);
   }
 
-  /// Encode a GIF in a format that parseGif() can parse.
+  /// Encode a GIF as a Giphy page URL, a format parseGif() also parses.
+  ///
+  /// A real URL rather than the lineage-only `g:<id>` token: recipients on
+  /// stock (or any non-lineage) MeshCore client can open it, where `g:<id>`
+  /// is opaque text to them. parseGif already matches this form, so Offband
+  /// keeps rendering inline and legacy `g:<id>` payloads still decode. (#282)
   static String encodeGif(String gifId) {
-    return 'g:$gifId';
+    return 'https://giphy.com/gifs/$gifId';
   }
 }
diff --git a/test/connector/gif_url_outbound_guard_test.dart b/test/connector/gif_url_outbound_guard_test.dart
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..86c6fef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/connector/gif_url_outbound_guard_test.dart
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+import 'package:flutter_test/flutter_test.dart';
+import 'package:meshcore_open/connector/meshcore_connector.dart';
+import 'package:meshcore_open/helpers/gif_helper.dart';
+import 'package:meshcore_open/helpers/smaz.dart';
+import 'package:meshcore_open/storage/prefs_manager.dart';
+import 'package:shared_preferences/shared_preferences.dart';
+
+// #282: the GIF payload is now a URL. Outbound text prep skips Smaz/Cyr2Lat for
+// "structured payloads" (it keyed on `g:`/`m:`/`V1|`). A transformed GIF URL
+// would arrive as opaque `s:`-prefixed base64 on a stock client, which is worse
+// than the raw text this change exists to fix. Pin that it survives intact.
+void main() {
+  TestWidgetsFlutterBinding.ensureInitialized();
+
+  const gifId = 'zaMiq1BvCdAVIiu3Mb';
+
+  setUp(() async {
+    SharedPreferences.setMockInitialValues({});
+    PrefsManager.reset();
+    await PrefsManager.initialize();
+  });
+
+  test('Smaz leaves the GIF URL intact on a Smaz-enabled channel', () async {
+    final connector = MeshCoreConnector();
+    await connector.setChannelSmazEnabled(0, true);
+
+    final payload = GifHelper.encodeGif(gifId);
+    final prepared = connector.prepareChannelOutboundText(0, payload);
+
+    expect(prepared, payload);
+    expect(prepared.startsWith('s:'), isFalse);
+    expect(GifHelper.parseGif(prepared), gifId);
+  });
+
+  test('Smaz declines to compress a GIF URL at all', () {
+    // Why the outbound `g:`/`m:`/`V1|` structured-payload guard did not need
+    // widening for #282: encodeIfSmaller only swaps in the `s:`+base64 form
+    // when it is genuinely smaller, and base64 overhead exceeds any dictionary
+    // gain on a URL. Pinned so a future dictionary change cannot silently start
+    // compressing GIF URLs into something a stock client cannot read.
+    final payload = GifHelper.encodeGif(gifId);
+    expect(Smaz.encodeIfSmaller(payload), payload);
+  });
+}
diff --git a/test/helpers/gif_url_encode_test.dart b/test/helpers/gif_url_encode_test.dart
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1502735
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/helpers/gif_url_encode_test.dart
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+import 'package:flutter_test/flutter_test.dart';
+import 'package:meshcore_open/helpers/gif_helper.dart';
+
+// #282: the picker sends a real Giphy URL instead of the lineage-only
+// `g:<code>` token, so stock / non-lineage MeshCore clients can retrieve the
+// GIF instead of seeing opaque text. Offband keeps rendering inline because
+// parseGif already matches this URL form.
+void main() {
+  const gifId = 'zaMiq1BvCdAVIiu3Mb';
+
+  group('encodeGif emits a cross-client retrievable Giphy URL', () {
+    test('emits the giphy.com page URL, not g:<code>', () {
+      expect(GifHelper.encodeGif(gifId), 'https://giphy.com/gifs/$gifId');
+    });
+
+    test('what it emits round-trips back to the id through parseGif', () {
+      expect(GifHelper.parseGif(GifHelper.encodeGif(gifId)), gifId);
+    });
+  });
+
+  group('back-compat: legacy payloads still render', () {
+    test('still parses a legacy g:<code> payload', () {
+      expect(GifHelper.parseGif('g:$gifId'), gifId);
+    });
+
+    test('still parses a legacy g:<code> reply payload', () {
+      expect(GifHelper.parseGif('@[Some Node] g:$gifId'), gifId);
+    });
+
+    test('parses a reply that carries the new URL form', () {
+      expect(
+        GifHelper.parseGif('@[Some Node] https://giphy.com/gifs/$gifId'),
+        gifId,
+      );
+    });
+  });
+}