If you’ve been yearning for a way to add GIF images to your Instagram stories, it looks like you’re in luck. The Facebook-owned app appears to be testing a feature that’ll allow you to do just that.
Users have begun seeing a searchable Giphy library pop up in their apps, granting them access to a swathe of sticker-like GIF images they can overlay on Instagram stories. According to The Next Web, the feature has been rolling out in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Brazil since November last year.
https://twitter.com/Mochijiminixx/status/953326333026713600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theverge.com%2F2018%2F1%2F18%2F16905866%2Fgiphy-gif-stickers-instagram-stories
https://twitter.com/springfairy_pcy/status/941928309876703233?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theverge.com%2F2018%2F1%2F18%2F16905866%2Fgiphy-gif-stickers-instagram-stories
The partnership makes sense, given Facebook already includes a searchable Giphy library folks can use when commenting on posted media. I can’t imagine it would be too hard to stretch that relationship over all of its platforms. As far as the oversaturated stories feature goes, Instagram seem to be ahead of the pack and additions like this are only fuel to the fire.
There’s no official word on what Instagram’s plans are for a wider rollout of the feature or when that might happen, but we can probably expect to hear something from it or Giphy at some point soon.
