How to send a GIF over WhatsApp with your iPhone or Android handset
WHO needs words on WhatsApp when you can just respond with GIFs.
The looping animated videos can liven up a group chat or be used as a sassy comeback – the possibilities are endless.
WhatsApp was a bit slow in adding its own GIF feature (powered by the web's most popular GIF search engine GIPHY), with the update arriving in November 2016, over a year after Facebook got it, and nine months after Twitter.
Here's how you can search and use GIFs in WhatsApp and even create your own.
How to search and send GIFs in WhatsApp
- Open a WhatsApp chat.
- Click the + button.
- Select Photo and Video Library to view your camera roll.
- A small magnifying glass icon with the word GIF should appear in the bottom-left corner.
- Select it to see rows of GIFs.
- Now you can browse or search for specific GIFs.
- To send a GIF, just tap the green arrow once you've selected it.
How to create and share your own GIFs in WhatsApp
If you loved Vine (the deceased looping video platform that produced infinite viral hits) then you need WhatsApp's GIF-maker in your life.
It lets you trim down your clips into GIFs up to six seconds long that you can then share in chats. Here's how:
- Open a WhatsApp chat.
- Tap the paperclip icon at the top right for attachments.
- Select Gallery.
- Choose the video you want to convert into a GIF.
- A video editor will show up – tap the camcorder icon at the top right and you should see GIF appear in its place.
- Edit the video, keeping in mind that it should be six seconds or less.
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- When you're done, add a caption message underneath if you want and tap the green arrow to send.
What's your most-used WhatsApp trick? Let us know in the comments.
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