In May, Facebook introduced support for GIFs in Messenger, but users could not upload them. Instead, they had to paste a link to a GIF stored on any other site, such as Giphy or Imgur. Following up on the introduction of various third party GIF apps that work inside of Messenger, Facebook is testing out to add dedicated GIF Button in Facebook Messenger that will allow the users to find and send GIFs in two taps.

What are the benefits of adding dedicated GIF Button in Facebook Messenger?

A dedicated GIF button in Facebook Messenger app will make sharing GIFs much easier than before as users will not have to leave the app. Tapping this button will turn the typing field into a search bar which is dedicated to locating GIFs on Riffsy and GIPHY, together with Messenger’s own sticker collection. GIF button was first spotted by some users in Canada last week. However, there is one disadvantage, as the selection of GIFs will be limited as compared to the one offered directly in the dedicated GIFs apps.

Integrating a dedicated GIF button in Messenger will definitely boost the use of GIFs. A download link now appears next to GIFs which might also increase downloads of the GIF apps. Facebook also revealed testing a pilot that will add GIF in the integrated search option.

Facebook is testing out to add dedicated GIF Button in Facebook Messenger, but it doesn’t guarantee that it will actually be rolling out to all Messenger users. However, it is highly possible also as Facebook is working to make Messenger as user friendly as it can be when it comes to sharing multimedia during chat sessions.