Instagram comments can now be overrun by GIFs

The Instagram camera icon on a pink, blue, and black background
Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge

RIP to the comment sections on Instagram because now everyone can finally drop in GIFs to posts and Reels in lieu of a thoughtful analysis or a masterful quip. So if you’re only on Instagram for the comments, you can finally just add a Michael Jackson-eating popcorn GIF.

The feature was already enabled for some users in a limited availability phase. Now, Meta has unlocked the feature for global use, and it should be available for everyone today. The GIFs are sourced through Giphy’s library and can be accessed by tapping a new GIF button that’s on the side of your comment typing box.

two iOS screenshots of instagram showing a grid of gif selections in a new giphy window and a comment section that now allows for gifs Image: Meta
GIF comments in Instagram, via Giphy.

Meta is also rolling out new Instagram Reels editing abilities that are being added to the new TikTok-like features that dropped last month. “In the next few weeks,” according to the press release, you’ll be able to split video, speed up and slow down clips (slo-mo), and replace clips in the timeline nondestructively.

Image: Meta
Split clips in Reels editing.
Image: Meta
Speed up and slow down a clip in the timeline.

After previewing their addition in an Instagram broadcast with Mark Zuckerberg and Adam Mosseri on Monday, the company launched GIF comments and Reels editing updates during a creators workshop in Mumbai, India, where it’s also announcing the release of Instagram Gifts for the Indian market. Meta is rolling out the gifting feature in India so that creators there can start earning money from fans of their Reels. People can buy stars and themed virtual gifts while viewing Reels — and while they’re at it, may as well drop in a GIF.



* This article was originally published here

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