WhatsApp for Android beta has rolled out a new feature with which you will be able to share videos as animated GIF images. It is now possible to convert a video of six seconds or less to an image in GIF format. The WhatsApp GIF is available for Android users who are running beta release – 2.16.242 to 2.16.244. Android Police was first to report the availability of the new GIF image support in WhatsApp beta release 2.16.242. However, we still don’t have any word from WhatsApp about the general availability of this feature.
WhatsApp puts a limit of six seconds for the video
To use the WhatsApp GIF feature, you need to navigate to the attachment icon on top of a chat display in the WhatsApp for Android beta app. You need to select an attachment and select record video option to shoot a 6-second video. It could be either a 6-second video or less than 6 seconds. We wonder why there is a limit of 6 seconds.
You will be able to view a trimmed video page with a camcorder icon on the top right corner of the page. If you select the icon, the recorded video will automatically convert into a GIF image. We expect that WhatsApp will remove the limit of six seconds when they release this feature globally.
Select videos from your gallery
Interestingly, the WhatsApp GIF will also work when you share existing videos located in the Gallery that are 6 seconds or less. Moreover, you can trim the videos by making use of WhatsApp’s built-in video trimmer. The new feature will also work if you attach and share an existing video from another app.
You should note that the camcorder icon will not appear for those videos that are not trimmed to 6 seconds or less. In the meantime, Android Police also reveals that the files are converted and shared as audio-less MP4 files that automatically play directly in the chat window.
The files are stored in WhatsApp > Media > WhatsApp Animated GIFs as MP4 files. On the front end, users receive relevant notification that a GIF image has been received. You can also view it in the Chat tab.
WhatsApp GIF for iOS rumors
Earlier, WhatsApp was rumored to integrate GIF image support for the iOS platform in June. However, we still don’t have any confirmation as to when this feature will hit iOS users. The mobile messaging platform also added the callback and voicemail feature to its Android app. However, this feature initially surfaced on iPhone devices and later on rolled out for Android.
