GIFs on WhatsApp
The wait for GIFs within WhatsApp was long and static, but in early 2018, the company finally started letting users send moving images to each other quickly and easily.
Although you can now send GIFs to your friends and family on the messaging service, the feature remains a bit hidden.
Photo Pixabay
In order to send them, you’ll need to be running a recent version of the WhatsApp software and if you read below we’ll show you exactly how to do it.
However, it’s different for iOS and Android, so make sure you’re reading the right section before you start trying it out.
How to send GIFs on WhatsApp on Android
In order to send GIFs on Android, you’ll have to dig deep as it’s not entirely obvious how to do it. It’s hidden behind a small button in a sub-menu, so you’ll first want to hit the emoticon face in the bottom left corner of the screen.
Here you will receive the yellow emoji that you can send within WhatsApp, but in the center of the bottom of the screen there is a small button that says GIF. On the opposite side of that is the stickers button as well.
Hit the word GIF, and you’ll be immediately greeted with a selection of the most popular GIFs right now. These are pulled from a service called Tenor GIFs.
You can scroll down to cycle through all the popular options, or by pressing the magnifying glass in the bottom left corner, you can search for something specific.
Once you’ve entered your search, you can scroll down to see all your searches. Then just tap on the GIF you’re interested in to see a full-screen preview. From here you can add a message if you want and tap the arrow to send it.
How to send GIFs on WhatsApp on iOS
It is also not easy to find GIF in WhatsApp on iOS. You’ll need to hit the plus icon at the bottom left of the screen to bring up the media options, then you’ll be greeted with an option that says «photo and video library» which you need to hit.
At the bottom left again, you’ll see a magnifying glass icon with the word GIF next to it. Click here and you can search for any GIF you want to send.
Then just tap on the GIF you want to send, and you’ll be able to send it to your chat after a quick preview.
There’s also a Featured GIF option that will let you save your favorite GIFs or the ones you use regularly, so you won’t always have to go back to find them every time you want to use them.
What if you have a different keyboard?
Some virtual keyboards offer an alternative way to send GIFs along with the method shown above.
For example, if you’re using SwiftKey, you can find GIFs inside the keyboard when you hold down the enter button in the bottom right corner.
You won’t be able to search for GIFs using this method, but it gives you options like ‘Angry’, ‘Bored’, and ‘Happy’, so you can quickly find a GIF to show the emotion you want to send. .
How to send GIFs on WhatsApp Web
It is also a similar process for sending GIFs on the WhatsApp web app. When you’re inside the chat you want to send a GIF to, tap the smiley face in the bottom left corner.
You’ll then be greeted with lots of emojis, and next to that you’ll find an option called GIFs at the bottom right. You can see the top trending GIFs right away, or there are some popular topics on top to choose from. If that doesn’t fit, there’s a search bar right below it.
Hit the GIF you want to send and you’ll be given a quick preview and the option to add your own message before sending.
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