You will soon be able to send videos as GIFs on WhatsApp

It seems like with a future update, WhatsApp will bring you the option to send videos as GIFs. Without having to root your device, that is.

Animated GIFs have become a mode of communication in today’s world. Social network giants like Facebook and Twitter already allow people to send and share GIFs, and Samsung’s latest phablet even lets you create your own GIFs with the S-Pen.

Although unofficial, there has been a way to send GIFs on WhatsApp, but it required rooting. For an average user, rooting can seem daunting and complicated. Plus, once you root your device, your manufacturer’s warranty is gone. Well, fear no more: judging by some of the latest beta versions of WhatsApp, it seems like the Android app will soon let anyone create and send GIFs without rooting.

I’m currently running WhatsApp 2.16.244 beta – the latest version – on an unrooted device, and as you can see above, creating GIF files is super simple:

• Open your conversation thread
• Tap on the paperclip attachment icon
• Choose Camera and then Record video
• After you record your video, click OK
• Now you will be able to trim your video. The video needs to be 6 seconds or less to be sent as a GIF.
• Tap the camcorder icon in the upper right corner. You will now see a GIF icon instead.
• Click send and voila, it’s done!

If you have a video on your phone already, you simply click the file and go through the same procedure to convert it into a GIF. As folks over at Android Police point out, your videos will be saved as MP4, but they are indeed received as GIFs. If you want to try it out, you can either join the beta program on Play Store or get the beta APK directly by clicking here.

What are your thoughts on creating GIFs from video files and sharing them on WhatsApp? Do you see yourself using the feature? Let us know in the comments below!