Animated GIFs have exploded on the internet, and for good reason. Sometimes a simple image or plain text just can’t capture the emotions you want to share with others, and you need an animated GIF to show people how you really feel. If you have an iPhone or iPad, you can send your friends or family an animated GIF in just a few quick steps.
Sending an animated GIF from your iOS device is a two-step process that requires you first to find the image you want to share and then insert it into the message that you are sending.
- Open Mobile Safari and search for the GIF you want to send.
- Copy the animated GIF by tapping and holding until the “Copy” option appears
- Tap “Copy” to copy the GIF to your clipboard.
- Open iMessage and tap the Compose button in the upper right corner.
- Type in the name or the phone number of the recipient. You also can tap the “+” to choose a contact from your address book
- Type in any text that you wish to add to the message and then tap and hold until the “Paste” option appears
- Tap “Paste” to add the GIF to the message. Note that the GIF animation will be static when you are creating the message. Rest assured, it will be animated once it is sent.
- Tap “Send” to send the message
One of the most popular repositories for finding animated GIFs is Giphy. Giphy tags each animated GIF with keywords that you can use as a search term. Just search for keywords like”mic drop,” “dancing,” or “happy” to find the best GIFs for your message. It has a helpful option underneath each GIF that allows you to copy and paste an image from its website to use in a text message. You also can find GIFs at The Perfect GIF Tumblr blog or Imgur, or can even create your own using YouTube’s built-in GIF creation tool with select videos, such as these from the PBS Idea Channel.
