What is a GIF file?
GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) dates back to 1987 and is best known for short, looping animations and reaction images. It's lossless but limited to 256 colors per frame, so photos look grainy and banded.
GIF supports simple on/off transparency (no soft edges). For animations, modern formats like WebP and MP4 give far better quality at a fraction of the size, but GIF still plays everywhere.
How to open a GIF file
Any web browser plays animated GIFs - drag the file into a browser window. Windows Photos and Mac Preview open them too (Preview shows the frames side by side). Messaging apps and social networks accept GIFs directly.
- Extension
- .gif
- Colors
- Up to 256 per frame
- Transparency
- Yes (on/off only)
- Animation
- Yes