How to Make a GIF on Your iPhone

The World Wide Web may have entered the engineering wizardry over the past 30 years, but the popularity of relatively less technically animated GIFs in the era of social media has outperformed many observers. Whereas in the old days you needed a computer-based graphical program to breathe life into a series of static pictures, today the process is automated and for most non-professional applications – all you need is your smartphone. There are many ways to create a GIF on your iPhone, from using Apple’s Live Photos to third party apps. We show you how to do this.

Use a live photo

You can easily create GIF animations with live photos on iPhone. Apple introduced Live Photos on the iPhone 6S in 2015, and among the many highlights of the feature is that they can be easily converted to GIFs. A live photo is technically a three-second video – you record the shutter button in 1.5 seconds after you tap the phone 1.5 seconds before the video is recorded – resulting in a three-second video complete with sound . Here’s how to convert it to GIF.

Shoot a live photo by launching the camera app and tapping the bull-eye icon at the top of the screen so that it turns yellow.
To turn a photo into a GIF, open the live photo and swipe up from the bottom.
See your options The loop, Boom, And long exposure – use either The loop or Boom For your animation.
The loop silently plays a three-second live photo in a loop, successfully converting the live photo to a GIF.
Bounce, a different type of animation, plays live photos back and forth in a permanent loop.

Choose a GIF in messages

If you don’t have a passion for creating your own original GIF from scratch, try GIF Finder in Apple Messages. To find and share GIFs, add a GIF to the #images feature in messages on the iPhone app.

Open the message and enter a contact or tap an existing conversation.
Tap Find picture To search for a specific GIF or enter a keyword.
Tap on GIF to add it to your message.
Tap Send.

Use shortcut app

You’ve probably done this by accident – long-held the iPhone’s shutter key, while the camera app shoots multiple still frames at full resolution. When viewed in succession, they resemble a flipbook animation. Those ripped photos are designed to capture action or create special effects when you don’t want to shoot video. They are especially useful for creating animated GIFs on your iPhone.

Launch the shortcut app. It comes pre-installed on your phone on iOS 12 and later.
Search for and download Convert burt to gif Short cut. While you’re at it, download Convert video to gif Short cut. If no one searches, you can find them Gallery> Photography> Convert GIF to Burst or Gallery> All GIF.
You may be asked to allow the app to access your photos or videos, so allow it.
Run the shortcut by tapping the arrow at the bottom right. This will show a list of all your ripped photos.
Select one and it quickly turns into a GIF.
Tap done And you will be inspired to share the GIF or Save for photos.

Just use Giphy

The free Giphy app, easily the most popular GIF generator, is a study in communal madness. Giphy was recently purchased by Facebook, but the app is still available from the App Store, as it has been in the past. With Giphy, you can choose from a myriad of free GIFs for every purpose. Or you can use your own images from your camera roll or shoot a new image or video and embellish it with animated stickers, text, filters and AR effects. Giphy guides your every move, allowing you to experiment as much as you can before saving your GIF.