How to Tweet a GIF on Twitter

Make your tweets more visually appealing with animated GIFs

By
Elise Moreau
Elise Moreau
Elise Moreau
Freelance Contributor
  • University of Ontario
  • George Brown College
Elise Moreau is a writer that has covered social media, texting, messaging, and streaming for Lifewire. Her work has appeared on Techvibes, SlashGear, Lifehack and others.
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Updated on April 21, 2022

What to Know

  • In the tweet composer box, select the GIF icon between the photo/video camera icon and the poll icon.
  • Select a category or search for a phrase. Select the GIF you want to use. Select the X to delete it.
  • You can't insert more than one GIF per tweet. Adding a GIF doesn't affect your tweet character limit.

This article explains how to add a GIF to a tweet on Twitter. Twitter supports a GIF search engine (Giphy) and a GIF keyboard platform (Riffsy) for built-in GIF sharing.

How to Tweet a GIF on Twitter

You can add a GIF to a tweet or tweet one by itself.

You can't insert more than one GIF per tweet using the GIF function. Although Twitter allows up to four regular images in one tweet by using the image function, the GIF function is limited to only one.

  1. Log in to Twitter.

  2. Click inside the tweet composer box or select the tweet composer button (marked by a quill/paper icon) to activate the buttons.

    Twitter tweet composer

  3. Select the GIF icon between the photo/video camera icon and the poll icon. 

    GIF button on Twitter

  4. The GIF search box opens. Select the category of your choice to see the GIFs contained in them.

    GIF library on Twitter

  5. Alternatively, perform a specific search by entering a keyword or phrase in the search field at the top.

    GIF search on Twitter

  6. Select the GIF you want to use, and it inserts into your tweet automatically. It shows up inline on your profile feed and the home feed of users who follow you.

    Adding a GIF doesn't affect your tweet character limit. Select the X in the upper-right corner of the GIF to delete it if you change your mind.

Why Share GIFs on Twitter?

Here are a few good reasons to share a GIF on Twitter instead of a standard image or video:

  • GIFs tell stories better than classic images.
  • Unlike videos, GIFs get the point across silently, automatically, and quickly before looping back to the beginning.
  • GIFs help users express their emotions and reactions.
  • GIFs grab users' attention.

Overall, GIFs are entertaining and fun to use on practically any social networking platform supporting them.

The Twitter GIF sharing feature is available both on Twitter via a web browser and the Twitter mobile app.

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