How to Make a GIF on iPhone: 3 Free Ways

An iPhone can make a real GIF file without a paid app, but the Camera app has no GIF button. The most flexible built-in route is the Shortcuts app, which turns photos, Live Photos or videos into a GIF and saves it to Photos. If you want to choose the exact moment in a video, a browser converter is quicker. Menu names can shift a little between iOS versions.

Which method should you use?

• A Live Photo: use Shortcuts to get a short GIF of that moment.
• Several photos or a burst: use Shortcuts to get a flip-book style GIF.
• A video, when you want one exact moment: use the video to GIF converter to choose the start, length, width and frame rate.
• Words you want to animate: use the typing text GIF maker to type them out letter by letter.
• Nothing, you just want to send a GIF: use a GIF keyboard and pick a ready-made one from a search.

How do I make a GIF on iPhone with Shortcuts?

Shortcuts comes with iPhone. If you deleted it, it is a free download from the App Store. Build this once and it stays on your phone:

1. Open Shortcuts and tap + to start a new shortcut.
2. Add the action Select Photos. Turn on Select Multiple if you want to combine several photos.
3. Add the action Make GIF. Tap its options to set the seconds per photo and whether it loops.
4. Add the action Save to Photo Album and pick Recents.
5. Rename the shortcut, for example "Make GIF", then tap Done.

Run it and choose your Live Photo, burst shots or video. The finished GIF lands in Photos, under Media Types > Animated.

Set a value around 0.2 to 0.5 seconds per photo for a set of separate pictures. Anything much faster than that can flicker when the shots are very different from each other.

What about Loop and Bounce on a Live Photo?

Loop and Bounce are Live Photo playback effects. In Photos, open a Live Photo and use the Live menu at the top to choose one. They look like a GIF inside Photos, but the effect is not the same thing as having a GIF file you can use anywhere. To get a file that keeps moving outside Apple apps, run the photo through the shortcut above.

How do you make a GIF from a video on iPhone?

Use a browser when timing matters. The free video to GIF converter opens in Safari, accepts iPhone MOV files and clips up to 15 seconds, and runs in the browser, so the video is not uploaded.

1. Open the converter and choose the video from your library.
2. Set the start point and length. Two to five seconds loops best.
3. Start with 480 px wide at 10 frames per second, then select Make GIF and download.

Saved files go to the Files app or Photos, depending on what you choose in the download prompt. If you end up with a GIF too big for a text message, run it through the GIF compressor.

How do I get the GIF keyboard on iPhone?

There are two options, and neither needs you to make anything.

The one already in Messages. Open a conversation, tap +, then #images (it can sit under More), and search. It only works inside Messages.

A keyboard that works in other apps. Install a keyboard app that has GIF search, such as GIPHY or Gboard. Then:

1. Open Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards.
2. Tap Add New Keyboard and choose the app.
3. Tap it in the list and turn on Allow Full Access if the app needs it for GIF search.
4. In any text field, press and hold the globe key to switch keyboards.

Allowing full access lets a keyboard send what you type to its developer, so only enable it for an app you trust.

How do you text GIFs on iPhone?

Tap + in Messages, choose Photos, and pick the GIF from your library. It plays as a loop in the chat. The full walkthrough, including why a GIF sometimes arrives frozen, is in how to send a GIF in a text.

How do you make an iPhone typing GIF in dark mode?

There are two different things people mean by this.

Your own words appearing on a dark background. Use the typing text GIF maker, type up to 100 characters and pick the white on black style. It animates your text with a blinking cursor. It does not copy the look of the Messages app.

A real recording of the Messages screen. This is the way to get the actual iPhone look:

1. Turn on Dark Mode in Settings > Display & Brightness.
2. Add Screen Recording to Control Center if it is not there.
3. Record a conversation while the three dots or your text appear. Use a chat with yourself or remove anything private.
4. In Photos, open the recording, tap Edit and crop to the part you want.
5. Convert it with the video to GIF converter.

Questions

Can you make a GIF on iPhone without an app? Yes. Shortcuts is an Apple app that normally comes on the phone, and the browser converter needs no install.

Where do GIFs save on iPhone? In Photos, under Media Types > Animated.

Why does my GIF look still in Photos? Open it from the Animated album. If it is still frozen, the file may have been saved as a single image from an app that flattened it, so save it again from the original source.

Can a GIF from my iPhone have sound? No. The GIF format has no audio track. To keep the sound, send the video instead.

What size should a GIF be for a text? Under 1 MB is the safest for picture messages sent as MMS. iMessage handles much larger files.