Sending GIFs is a much easier way of expressive emotions without even saying a word. However, not all of us are fully aware of the art of sending GIFs, with a little fault of our own. Every operating system keyboard comes with its own method of sending GIFs in a chat, and we are going to teach you exactly how you can send GIFs on some of the most popular platforms.
So how to text a gif?
Texting a GIF is easy. Once you have opened up a messaging app of your choice, such as iMessage or WhatsApp, or the default messenger installed on Android phones, the keyboard would probably give you a GIF option. Simply clicking on it will reveal GIFs, and you can send one by selecting and clicking whichever you like.
Apart from the inbuilt apps on smartphones that allow you to send GIFs, or social media trackers that help you find trending GIFs, there are specialized apps such as GIPHY (iOS, Android ), which have a vast collection of GIFs categorized according to context and geographical culture. Users can also search for the most appropriate one as per their needs by typing in keywords that best describe the emotion they wish to express.
Adding a GIF to iMessage is simple as the default keyboard provided by the operating system contains a vast collection of GIFs. To use the default keyboard feature to add GIF on iPhone text, follow these steps:
All Android phones come with a designated messaging app. However, they all may look and operate differently. But, all of them come with GIFs for texting. There isn’t much difference between Android and iPhone GIFs, however the way to sending GIFs through both the operating systems slightly varies. If you are using the Google keyboard by default, then sending a GIF over a text message can be done through the following steps:
Although the default keyboard is likely to have a GIF option, in case you are looking for a GIF keyboard that has a more extensive collection of GIFs, then you can add a specialized one on your own as well. To do this, follow these steps:
This keyboard would not replace the default keyboard available in your phone’s messaging apps but will be available as a standalone app. To add a GIF, simply open this keyboard and select the GIF of your choice to send as a message through your preferred messaging app.
Since GIFs have become universally popular among iPhone users, Apple has included the texting GIF feature as part of the default iMessage in iOS versions ten and later. Third-party options are also available, in case the default iPhone typing GIF collection is not adequate as per your needs.
You can also get third-party GIF apps to work with your iMessage app. The most popular one is called GIPHY, and also another one called GIF Keyboard. To download either or both of these apps, there are two options. First, you can use the App Store, available on the iPhone. Second, there is an option to download the app through iMessage.
To add a GIF keyboard through the iMessage app, follow these steps:
To use the GIF keyboard feature, all you need to do is follow these steps:
Another way to use the GIF keyboard on Android phones is through third-party applications. In the Android world, just like the Apple world, GIPHY seems to be a very popular app for an extensive GIF collection. Follow these steps to use the GIPHY (or any other third-party GIF app) on your Android phone. You can also use any video to a gif converter and send the gif directly from your messaging app.
Unlike the iPhone’s default messaging app, the Android messaging apps don’t contain an in-built app store, and hence you cannot embed third-party GIF keyboards into your default keyboard. However, the collection of GIFs available to you remains the same, regardless of the operating system you use.
Dexatel aims to build a better future where technology creates good connections and communication for everyone and everywhere.