The Twitter symbol is displayed at the post where the stock is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in this Nov. 15, 2013 file photo.Reuters
The 255 million monthly active users on Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) now have yet another way to express themselves, with animated GIFs. Twitter announced on its support page on Wednesday that it has added support for GIF files for the main Twitter website as well as the Twitter iOS and Android apps.
Users need only save a GIF file and upload it to Twitter like they would a still image. The image may require that you press a play button beforehand, but afterwards it will function like any other GIF. Wired notes that Twitter's GIF support are actually looping MP4 videos created from GIFs, similar to how Vine videos function, but the end result appears like a GIF. When users open a Tweet to its own page, the animated file will play automatically.
Notably, GIFs in embedded Tweets may not play, depending on the website.
