What happened to GIF messages on Instagram - where did they go

Yeah, Instagram ditched Giphy for their own sticker system. Hit the same wall when we were doing marketing stuff at work.

Those animated stickers are Instagram’s knockoff GIFs - way worse selection than Giphy had. You’ll find some in the sticker menu but it’s pretty bare.

Here’s what works: save GIFs to your camera roll and send them as videos in DMs. Quality takes a hit but gets the job done.

Basically Instagram wanted more control and didn’t want to pay Giphy anymore. Classic move - worse for us, cheaper for them.