For those in doubt… GIFs are nothing more than short videos made up of images that run in a loop, with a really nice special effect. A nice alternative to images with text to add color to your chats.

The great thing about this update is that there are several ways to use GIFs on WhatsApp :

• Send a GIF saved on your mobile
• Create a GIF from a video
• Share a GIF from another app

The new feature is available for all devices using WhatsApp, both iPhone and Android (we are waiting for Windows Phone). Just update the application to the latest version available (here you will find the download link ) and follow these directions.

Send GIFs on WhatsApp with Android

The easiest way to share a GIF on WhatsApp with Android is to download it from the Internet . Just do a search and save the image to your phone’s camera roll. Then open WhatsApp and select the GIF that is among the images like a normal photograph.

News 2017: now on WhatsApp for Android it is possible to search for moving images on Giphy and send them to contacts (at the moment only for those who use the beta version , but soon for everyone).

To activate the GIF search function , click on the emoji button next to the text entry field and then switch between emojis and GIFs from the new bar at the bottom, as shown in this photo:

In this way WhatsApp has added a new way to send animated images, which is added to the photos that you can take with your mobile phone or to the images with writing that you find both on the net and here on Messaggimania.

Option 2: Share GIFs from other applications. For example, from Dropbox. To use it, even the Dropbox app (or the one to share the GIF from). Click on the GIF you want to send and select “share”. Then click on “export” and then select “WhatsApp”. WhatsApp will automatically open, where you can choose the contact or group and send the GIF.

Option 3: Create GIF directly from video on WhatsApp. This is probably the most interesting function, because it allows you to create your own GIFs starting from a video shot with your mobile phone. To use this feature, do the following:

1. open WhatsApp
2. click on the paperclip above and open the video gallery
3. select the video you want to turn into GIF
4. edit the video with the WhatsApp editor: reduce the duration to 6 seconds (the maximum allowed for a GIF)
5. click on the camera icon at the top right (so that it turns into a GIF)
6. add a caption if you want
7. send your GIF by clicking on the arrow at the bottom right.

Et voilà, that’s it.

NB Remember, a GIF has a maximum duration of about 6-7 seconds, if the video is longer it will be sent as a video. After sending the GIF, a contact or group plays automatically. The funny thing is that GIF playback never stops, so we’ll see it in constant motion until the screen closes.

Send GIFs on WhatsApp with iPhone

Let’s see the procedure to follow to send GIFs on WhatsApp on iPhone devices with iOS operating system.

Here’s how to proceed:

1. Open WhatsApp and go to the chat (or group) where you want to share the GIF
2. Click on the “+” at the bottom left and then on “Photo / Video Library”
3. At this point you can select a GIF saved in the roll of film and send it, or select a video and turn it into a GIF
4. If the GIF is already saved, you simply need to select it and send it.
5. If you want to transform a video into GIF, instead, you have to: select the video, open it on WhatsApp, change the duration to a maximum of a few seconds and click on the GIF button that appears on the screen. Select the contact and send.

Turn on GIF search on iPhone

On the iPhone, you can find many beautiful GIFs using GIPHY, a GIF search engine.

With GIPHY, you can select the GIF you prefer and send it directly to WhatsApp.

Here’s how to do it:

• open conversation or group
• click on the “+” at the bottom left
• click on GIF

Now select the one you prefer or enter a search term. Then you can edit the GIF and send it!

Create a GIF from a live photo

On iPhone you can also create GIFs for WhatsApp starting from a live photo. Just follow the procedure described above and, instead of clicking on GIF, go to the camera roll and select a live photo. The WhatsApp editor will take care of turning it into a splendid GIF.