How to Make a Gif on Your iPhone

While the internet has been transformed over the last 30 years into a kind of engineering fairyland, the popularity of low-tech animated GIFs in the age of social media has held up better than most observers have imagined. Whereas in the old days, before 2000, you needed a computer-based graphical program to breathe life into a series of static images, today GIF-making is automated so that all you need is your smartphone. There are several ways to create GIFs on your iPhone, from using Apple’s Live Photos to third-party apps. We’ll show you how it’s done.

Use a live photo

You can create GIF animations easily with live photos on the iPhone. Apple debuted live photos on the iPhone 6S in 2015, and among the feature’s many attributes is that they can be easily transformed into GIFs. A live photo is actually a three-second video — the phone records video for 1.5 seconds before you tap the shutter button to 1.5 seconds after you tap — resulting in a video complete with sound. Here’s how to turn that into a GIF in iOS 14.

• Shoot a live photo by launching the Camera app and tapping the Bullseye icon at the top-right of the screen so that it shows an animation and the yellow “live” badge appears.
• To turn the photo into a GIF, launch the Photos app and tap Albums at the bottom of the window.
• Under Media Types, tap Live Photos.
• Choose the image you want to work with and Swipe Up.
• You’ll see choices of Live, Loop, Bounce, and Long Exposure — use either Loop or Bounce for your animation.
• Loop plays the three-second live photo silently in a loop, successfully turning the live photo into a GIF.
• Bounce, a different sort of animation, plays the live photo forward and backward.

Choose a GIF in Messages

If you’re not obsessed with creating your own original GIF from scratch, try the GIF finder in Apple Messages. Add a GIF from the #images feature in Messages on the iPhone app to find and share GIFs.

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

Use the Shortcuts app

In iOS 14, if you hold down the Camera Shutter key for longer than it takes to capture a single shot, the software automatically launches the video camera instead of the photo burst, as it did in previous versions. Now, to get a photo burst — multiple still frames at full resolution — you must tap and hold the shutter button while moving it to the left — a move that takes some getting used to. Burst photos, when viewed in succession, resemble a flipbook animation designed to capture action or create special effects when you don’t want to shoot a video. They are especially useful in creating animated GIFs on your iPhone with the built-in Shortcuts app. Here’s how to do it.

• Launch the Shortcuts app — it comes pre-installed on your phone with iOS 12 and later.
• Search for and download the Convert Burst to GIF shortcut. While you’re at it, also download the Convert Video to GIF shortcut. If either one does not come up in a search, you can find them via Gallery > Photography > Convert Burst to GIF or Gallery > All the GIFs.
• You may be asked to allow the app access to your photos or videos, so allow it.
• Run the shortcut by tapping the Arrow at the bottom-right of the window. It will show a list of all your burst photos.
• Select one, and it is quickly transformed into a GIF.
• Tap Done, and you will be prompted to either Share the GIF or Save to Photos.

Just use Giphy

The free Giphy app, easily the most popular GIF generator available, is a study in visual madness. Giphy is now owned by Facebook, but the app is still available on the App Store, as always. The only difference is that now you have to create an account, then sign in with Facebook, your Apple ID, or via face recognition. With Giphy, you can choose from a myriad of free GIFs for every purpose imaginable. You can also use your own images from your photos or shoot a new image or video and embellish it with animated stickers, text, filters, and augmented reality (AR) effects. Giphy guides you every step of the way, allowing as much experimentation as you can stand before saving your GIF.

• Download Giphy from the App Store.
• Sign in with Facebook or your Apple ID.
• Follow the prompt to create a new GIF.
• Allow Giphy to access your camera and your photos. You can control which photos Giphy can use if you want.
• Add all sorts of animated elements to your own image.
• Or use Giphy’s pre-made GIFs in any category you want.
• Save, upload to Giphy, or share with your friends.

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