Twitter has released a built-in GIF button for all users, letting users search for animations to accompany their tweets.
The library, which is searchable by keywords, categories or reactions, will be available around the world on iOS, Android and online over the coming weeks.
The GIF button sits within the keyboard and links to a library of GIFs. It’s similar to the GIF keyboards recently added to Facebook and Tinder, and offers users anything from “the perfect cat yawn” to “mic drop.”
The popularity of GIFs on the social network is unrivaled. Twitter claims that people shared over 100 million GIFs in tweets and direct messages in 2015.
The GIFs are coming! Get ready to search and send GIFs in Tweets and Direct Messages: https://t.co/uk75stt1zN pic.twitter.com/1dDD1B4CW2
— Twitter (@twitter) February 17, 2016
“So much can be expressed with GIFs, and the key is to find just the right one in the moment that quickly and efficiently expresses your emotions,” said David McIntosh, chief executive and co-founder of Riffsy, which is working with Twitter.
Twitter teamed up with both Riffsy and Giphy to create the catalogue.
“Giphy’s users are creating GIFs for news, entertainment, sports, and expression that can enrich tweets,” said Alexa Chung, founder and chief executive of Giphy. “We’re excited to work with Twitter to make sharing these GIFs even easier.”
Some brands have already made use of the new feature, including Lamborghini:
.@Support Our first GIF on Twitter: the Aventador #Lockdown on @transformers IV movie. #transformers pic.twitter.com/BkUnFsClQV
— Lamborghini (@Lamborghini) June 18, 2014
“GIPHY delivers real-time GIFs as they happen, helping to power Twitter’s live commentary and conversation,” says Alex Chung, founder and CEO of GIPHY. “GIPHY’s users are creating GIFs for news, entertainment, sports, and expression that can enrich Tweets. We’re excited to work with Twitter to make sharing these GIFs even easier.”
“So much can be expressed with GIFs, and the key is to find just the right one in the moment that quickly and efficiently expresses your emotions,” says David McIntosh, CEO and co-founder of Riffsy. “We’re excited to explore this partnership with Twitter and watch Twitter users discover and share their favorite GIFs in their daily lives.”