A number of Twitter users are tweeting that they’ve spotted a dedicated GIF button on the platform’s mobile app. Many of the tweets regarding the feature appropriately also contain GIFs.
Twitter user Phil Pearlman provided a screenshot of the button from the Android version of the app. As you can see in the tweet below, the dedicated GIF feature can be found in the “compose tweet” screen, sitting in between the camera and poll icons.
If people aren't seeing it yet twttr is testing way cool gif feature. cc @bluechoochoo pic.twitter.com/LuTsVeUiSs
— Pearl (@ppearlman) February 4, 2016
The New feature resembles the GIF button found on Facebook, meaning it organizes the graphic images into mood-based categories and also allows users to select trending GIFs, reports TechCrunch.
https://twitter.com/Skooshbag/status/695061488092979200
According to Pearlman, the GIF button immediately disappeared after he captured a screenshot of it, and other users have also commented on its ephemeral nature.
The users who have supposedly uploaded GIFs from the app do not share any common traits (such as a large amount of followers), which indicates that this is a test feature, not an exclusive, that has been doled out to a handful of random people.
https://twitter.com/Lexiilu22/status/695056222303588352
With no official word from Twitter, we can only speculate as to whether this means the feature is imminent. Judging from the popularity of GIFs, it would certainly make sense, especially since Twitter’s rivals already boast the capability. Twitter frequently runs these sorts of tests; most recently users were complaining that tweets on their timelines were appearing in a new out-of-order format. The fact that people who have spotted the GIF button have tweeted positively about it is also a sign that it will be welcomed, and more importantly utilized, by the platform’s wider user base.
The move comes just days after it was revealed that Twitter has monetized emojis on its platform, with the company reportedly charging brands up to a million dollars for a custom icon. GIFs could also be viewed as a potential money-spinning feature for the service.
