By now we all know that Meta - via its Instagram team - has rolled out a Twittercompetitor called Threads. It racked up an impressive 50 million signups in the first day, and is on something of a roll.

And while it’s very much analternative to Twitter, it is missing a few features in this initial rollout period. Chief among those is the ability to add GIFs to your posts natively. Thankfully, there is a workaround, and it’s a pretty simple one. All you need is a third-party keyboard from the App Store or Google Play Store. Enter: Microsoft SwiftKey.

gif threads android

How to use GIFs when posting to Threads on iPhone

The process for both iPhone and Android is fairly similar, but let’s start off with iPhone first. Since Apple’s own stock keyboard doesn’t have GIF support built-in, what you need to do is install a third-party option that does. The most consistent for this particular feature - in our testing - has been Microsoft’s SwiftKey app. So, first, head to the App Store on your iPhone anddownload SwiftKey.

Now you need to enable the keyboard and verify it’s working and selected. Follow the steps below to ensure it’s working:

Now the keyboard app should work as it’s intended to work, to get started with GIFs open the Threads app and follow the steps below:

How to GIF in Threads on Android

The process for Android is similar to the iPhone method but not identical due to how they both manage third-party keyboards a little differently. For whatever reason, at the time of writing - despite the fact it supports GIFs - Gboard doesn’t seem to work with Threads on this feature. So - again - your first step is downloading SwiftKey from the Play Store. you may download it below.

Once downloaded, follow the steps below to get it working on your phone:

Now that SwiftKey has been chosen as your default typing method, you’re able to use the built-in GIF finder to insert GIFs into your Threads posts. Follow the steps below to do it:

This is just one of the tips we’ve found since downloading and using Threads. For more, check out ourguide on getting started with Threads.