Twitter now supports GIFs -- better late than never.
Users of the social network have long requested the ability to tweet the endlessly looping animations. They got their wish on Wednesday, when Twitter announced the update via a tweet from its support team (it's your move now, Facebook).
Starting today, you can share and view animated GIFs on http://t.co/wJD8Fp317i, Android and iPhone. http://t.co/XBrAbOm4Ya
— Twitter Support (@Support) June 18, 2014
You can view GIFs on Twitter's site, as well as on Android and iPhone devices. However, it appears you can only post them via Twitter.com, and they do not function on tablets.
[seealso slug="combined-gifs/"]
Posting GIFs is fairly easy. We went ahead and made a step-by-step guide to show you exactly how to get in on the GIF-ing action.
Step 1: Find your GIF of choice.
A quick way to find a good GIF is by going on Giphy. Once you've found the chosen one, save it to your computer.
(If you'd prefer to make a GIF yourself, stay tuned, we'll tell you how to do that as well.)
Step 2: Compose a tweet.
You can compose a tweet via the Twitter homepage, or by going to your own profile.
Step 3: Click 'Add photo.'
After you save a GIF to your computer, you can select and upload it the same way you would a regular image.
Step 4: Post away.
— Yohana Desta (@YohanaDesta) June 18, 2014
Once you post a GIF, you can choose to play it or pause it, similar to a Vine video. Note that even though you upload GIFs like photos, you can only post one at a time, not four. That feature is only for static images.
BONUS: How to make your own GIFs
If the Internet doesn't have the GIF you want, you can easily learn how to make it yourself. Mashable's Christine Erickson has a lengthy tutorial on all the ways you can make the endlessly looping animations. Here are a few of her suggestions:
Use Photoshop.
If you have a Mac, try the $5 app GIFBrewery.
Check out free service GIFSoup, which allows users to make GIFs from YouTube videos.
Try GIFBoom, another simple app for making quick GIFs.
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BONUS: The Illustrated History of Twitter