Google acquires GIF search engine Tenor

Google’s latest acquisition will make it easier for you to search for GIFs on its platforms. The search giant just bought GIF search engine Tenor for an undisclosed amount. Google says they will be integrating Tenor’s technology into its products like Gboard and Google Images. Tenor, for those of you who don’t know, offers the GIF Keyboard on Android, iOS, and macOS. It lets you search through the company’s entire database of GIFs, which you can send to other people on your platform of choice. The company has direct tie-ins with the likes of Samsung and Facebook for Messages app and Messenger, respectively. While joining Google, Tenor will still continue to operate under its own name.

Source: Engadget

Facebook finally tries out GIFs in main app but only for comments

After keeping it away from its main app for years, Facebook is conceding a bit when it comes to posting GIFs. But at the moment it’ll be limited to posting GIFs as comments and not as a post on the News Feed. And it is currently available to a small number of users as Facebook tests out the feature. It’ll work pretty similar to how you post GIFs in Messenger, where you can browse trending GIFs or look for specific reactions to share.

Facebook is quick to say that they are currently just testing out the feature. In a statement to TechCrunch: “Everyone loves a good GIF and we know that people want to be able to use them in comments. So we’re about to start testing the ability to add GIFs to comments and we’ll share more when we can, but for now we repeat that this is just a test.” But who knows if people use it often enough, they might roll it out to more users.

The PS4 lets you make GIFs now

Want to keep a moment of a game in GIF form? Kotaku reports and outlines how it’s now possible to make GIFs on the PlayStation 4. Sony updated the ShareFactory PS4 app to let you turn gaming clips into animated GIFs. The GIFs have been tailored specifically for tweeting. They aren’t high-res and last around nine seconds or so but it is a start. Maybe higher res GIFs will be heading our way in the future.