The GIF format is older than many people on the internet (it was first released in June 1987), but it’s more popular than ever as it’s the format of choice for sharing animated memes on social media. Except it doesn’t work at all in WhatsApp, which requires the user to tap on the image to see the animation.
WhatsApp beta 2.23.10.2 for Android will change that slightly: animated GIFs will now play automatically the first time they are viewed. However, how WABetaInfo note, WhatsApp will only play the animation once, even if the GIF is looping. After that, the familiar “GIF” badge appears, and you have to tap the image again if you want to see the animation again.
This is probably for the best, because an endlessly repeating animation can quickly become annoying. Either way, this is a rather small update, but it will make sharing animated memes more fun, so it can have a big effect on your chats.
If you’re part of the WhatsApp TestFlight program, you may already have access to autoplay GIFs; otherwise, the new feature is gradually being enabled for more users and will eventually be rolled out to all users.
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