How to Send Live Photos as GIFs in iOS 11

This guide shows you how to turn the Live Photos you take on your iPhone into animated GIFs and send them through Messages, Mail, or any other app in iOS 11. You don’t need a third-party app for the basic trick, though we’ll cover a built-in workaround that keeps the animation when you send it. Before you start, make sure your iPhone is running iOS 11 or later and that you have at least one Live Photo saved in your Photos library.

What You’ll Need

• An iPhone or iPad running iOS 11 or newer
• A Live Photo saved in your Photos app (taken with the camera’s Live Photo mode on)
• The Messages app (or another app that supports GIF insertion, like Mail or Notes)

Step-by-Step

1. Open the Photos app on your iPhone or iPad. Tap the Albums tab at the bottom, then scroll to the “Media Types” section and tap “Live Photos.” This shows only your Live Photos, making it easier to find the one you want.
2. Select the Live Photo you want to convert. Tap it once to open it in full screen.
3. Swipe up on the photo (or tap the “Live” icon in the top-left corner, which looks like concentric circles). A small menu appears with four effects: Live, Loop, Bounce, and Long Exposure.
4. Choose “Loop” or “Bounce.” Loop plays the Live Photo forward and then repeats it from the beginning. Bounce plays it forward and then in reverse, creating a back-and-forth motion. Both result in an animated clip that behaves like a GIF. For a classic GIF feel, Bounce is usually the better choice because it has no jump cut at the end.
5. Tap “Done” in the top-right corner. The effect is applied and saved to that Live Photo. You’ll see a small “Loop” or “Bounce” badge on the photo thumbnail in your library.
6. Open the Messages app and start a new conversation or open an existing one. Tap the text field to bring up the keyboard.
7. Tap the App Store icon (the blue “A” icon) next to the text field. Then tap the “Photos” icon (it looks like a small photo stack) in the app drawer that appears above the keyboard.
8. Find the Live Photo you just edited in the photo picker. It will appear as a still image, but don’t worry—the animation will play when sent.
9. Tap the photo to insert it into your message. You’ll see it appear in the text field as a small thumbnail.
10. Press the Send button (the blue up arrow). The recipient will receive it as an animated GIF-style clip, not a still photo. If you’re sending to another iPhone with iOS 11 or later, it will animate automatically. If you’re sending to an Android phone, it may arrive as a video file or a still image depending on the app.

If you want to send the GIF outside of Messages—for example, in an email or a social media app—you can use the same trick: copy the Live Photo from Photos after applying Loop or Bounce, then paste it into the destination app. Some apps won’t preserve the animation, but many modern ones will.

Common Mistakes

• Forgetting to apply an effect first. Sending a plain Live Photo without Loop or Bounce often results in the recipient seeing a still image or a video, not an animated GIF.
• Using the wrong photo picker. If you tap the camera icon instead of the Photos icon in Messages, you’ll only be able to take a new photo, not pick an existing Live Photo.
• Sending to an older iOS device. If the recipient is on iOS 10 or earlier, they may not see the animation. They’ll get a still photo or a video file instead.
• Choosing “Loop” for a clip with a clear start/end. Loop can look jarring if the beginning and end of the clip don’t match. Bounce is smoother for most subjects.
• Editing the wrong photo. Swiping up on a photo that isn’t a Live Photo (like a regular photo or a screenshot) won’t show the effects menu—it will just show a blur effect or nothing at all.

Tips

• Keep it short. Live Photos are only 3 seconds long, so the resulting GIF will be short too. That’s fine for quick reactions or moments, but don’t expect a long clip.
• Use Bounce for action shots. If the Live Photo captures movement (like a dog jumping or a friend waving), Bounce makes the motion loop naturally.
• Use Loop for ambient scenes. For a calm scene like waves or a flickering candle, Loop creates a seamless repeat.
• Test before sending. Send the GIF to yourself first to see how it looks in the conversation. If it doesn’t animate, go back and re-apply the effect.
• Combine with the “Long Exposure” effect for a different look. Long Exposure turns the Live Photo into a still image with motion blur, which isn’t a GIF, but can be a nice alternative for certain subjects.
• If you want a true GIF file (with a .gif extension) that works everywhere, you’ll need a third-party app like GIPHY or Lively. But for most casual sending, the built-in Loop/Bounce trick is enough.

Troubleshooting

• The animation doesn’t play when I send it. First, make sure you applied Loop or Bounce and tapped “Done.” Then check that the recipient is on iOS 11 or later. If they’re on Android or older iOS, the animation may not come through. Try sending it as a video instead by using the “Share” button in Photos and choosing “Save as Video” (this creates a .mov file that plays everywhere).
• I don’t see the effects menu when I swipe up. This happens if the photo isn’t a Live Photo. Check the top-left corner of the photo—if you see a “Live” icon, it’s a Live Photo. If not, take a new one with the camera’s Live Photo mode on (the concentric circles icon at the top of the camera screen).
• The photo sends as a still image. This can happen if you inserted it from the regular Photos app instead of the Messages photo picker. Delete the message, open Messages, tap the App Store icon, then the Photos icon, and re-insert the photo from there.
• The GIF looks choppy or skips frames. Live Photos are compressed, so some quality loss is normal. Try taking a new Live Photo with steady hands and good lighting. Avoid moving the camera too much during the 3-second capture.
• I can’t find my Live Photo in the Messages picker. The picker shows all photos, not just Live Photos. Scroll through or use the search bar at the top. If you have thousands of photos, it may take a moment to load.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I send a Live Photo as a GIF to an Android phone?
A: Yes, but it may not animate in all apps. If you send it via SMS/MMS, it often arrives as a video file. To guarantee a GIF, use a third-party app to convert the Live Photo to a .gif file first, then send that file.

Q: Does the Loop or Bounce effect change the original Live Photo?
A: No. The effect is stored as metadata, and you can change it back to “Live” at any time by swiping up and selecting “Live” again. The original video and audio are preserved.

Q: Why does my GIF stop animating after a few seconds?
A: That’s unusual. If the recipient sees a still image, it’s likely their device or app doesn’t support animated photos. Ask them to tap the photo to see if it plays. If it still doesn’t, send it as a video instead.

Q: Can I make the GIF longer than 3 seconds?
A: Not with the built-in method. Live Photos are always 3 seconds. To make longer GIFs, you’d need to record a video and use a converter app.

Q: Will the GIF work in email?
A: It depends on the email app. In the Mail app on iOS, inserting a Live Photo with Loop/Bounce will send it as a still image. To send an animated GIF via email, you must convert it to a .gif file first using a third-party app.

Q: Is there a way to send the GIF without the audio?
A: The Loop and Bounce effects automatically mute the audio. If you want to keep sound, you’d need to send the Live Photo as a video instead.

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