Facebook acquires GIF-sharing platform Giphy, to integrate it with Instagram

Social media giant Facebook said it is acquiring the popular platform of sharable animated images, Giphy with plans to integrate the massive GIF library into Instagram and other Facebook-owned apps. An American news portal reported the deal worth USD 400 million Friday citing multiple sources.

"GIPHY, a leader in visual expression and creation, is joining the Facebook company today as part of the Instagram team. GIPHY makes everyday conversations more entertaining, and so we plan to further integrate their GIF library into Instagram and our other apps so that people can find just the right way to express themselves," Facebook said in a statement.

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Well-integrated

Offering tools for creating, sharing, and remixing GIFs — Giphy is one of the largest GIF sites on the internet. Facebook says it has already relied on Giphy's API for sourcing GIFs in its apps for years: Instagram, the main Facebook app, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp all already work with the service.

"50% of GIPHY’s traffic comes from the Facebook family of apps, half of that from Instagram alone. By bringing Instagram and GIPHY together, we can make it easier for people to find the perfect GIFs and stickers in Stories and Direct," the statement said.

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Though, for now, Facebook says that things will remain the same for Giphy users. Instagram's Vice President of product, Vishal Shah said in a blog post announcing the news, "People will still be able to upload GIFs; developers and API partners will continue to have the same access to Giphy's APIs, and Giphy's creative community will still be able to create great content."

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Moreover, a number of services rely on Giphy's API for supplying GIFs, including Twitter, Pinterest, Slack, Reddit, and more. While Facebook's announcement would seem to indicate that those services will still be able to rely on Giphy as they currently do, at least for now. However, there may be some added tension with those services going forward given that several of them compete directly with Facebook.

(With inputs from agencies)

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