WhatsApp to Introduce Autoplaying GIFs, Long-Awaited Feature in the Works

GIFs (short for Graphics Interchange Format) have become a popular format for sharing animated content online for fun. GIFs cover everything from billions of good morning messages to adorable cats and dogs doing silly things. While you can share GIFs on WhatsApp, the recipient must tap on the GIF to begin playing it, which is strange given that GIFs are supposed to play automatically.

Well, the Meta-owned messaging app is changing this behavior slightly-animated GIFs will now play automatically the first time they are viewed.

WhatsApp to Bring Autoplaying GIFs

As per a report by WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is reportedly testing a new feature that enables automatic playback of shared GIFs in conversations. This feature is currently available in the latest beta build of WhatsApp for Android, version 2.23.10.2.

At present, when a user shares a GIF in a chat, a "GIF" icon appears on the media file, and either the sender or recipient needs to tap on the icon to initiate playback. However, with this new feature, the media file will autoplay in the chat. It's important to note that the GIF will only play once, and once the playback ends, users will need to tap on the media file to replay it. Here's how the feature works.

According to the report, WhatsApp has enabled automatic GIF playback in conversations for selected beta testers of its app.

Some folks at Android Police have the autoplay GIF feature already live, and as stated before, the GIF plays once before its playback stops.

When Will This Feature Roll Out?

If the automatic GIF playback feature isn't already available to you, it's likely that WhatsApp will roll out the update to the public in due time.

Alternatively, you can enroll in the beta version of the app by visiting the WhatsApp download page on the Play Store.

Source

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