How to Convert Video to GIF on iPhone & iPad

Sep 15, 2021 - 8 Comments

How to Convert Video to GIF on iPhone & iPad

We’ve all wanted to turn a part of a video into a GIF at some point to make a meme out of it, create an animated picture, or anything else really. If this is something you still like to do, you’ll be pleased to know that you can now make GIFs from videos on your iPhone and iPad without relying on a third-party app.

There are several third-party apps available on the App Store that allows you to create GIFs from videos. You may have tried one or more of them already on your device. What’s different about this particular technique is that we’ll be making use of the built-in Shortcuts app on your iPhone or iPad. If you aren’t aware, Shortcuts gives you access to certain tools that aren’t natively available in iOS and iPadOS.

How to Convert a Video to GIF on iPhone & iPad with Shortcuts

Shortcuts app comes pre-installed on iPhones and iPads running iOS 13/iPadOS 13 or later. However, if you deleted Shortcuts or if yoour device is running iOS 12, you’ll need to download it from the App Store. Now, let’s check out the necessary steps:

  1. Launch the Shortcuts app from the home screen of your iPhone or iPad.

  2. Upon launch, you’ll normally be taken to the My Shortcuts section of the app. Head over to the “Gallery” section from the bottom menu to proceed.

    How to Convert Video to GIF on iPhone & iPad
  3. Here, you’ll find a “Starter Shortcuts” banner just below the search bar. Tap on this banner to find the necessary shortcut you need to install.

    How to Convert Video to GIF on iPhone & iPad
  4. Now, scroll down below and tap on the “Make GIF” shortcut as shown in the screenshot below.

    How to Convert Video to GIF on iPhone & iPad
  5. Next, tap on “Add Shortcut” to install this shortcut and add it to the My Shortcuts section.

    How to Convert Video to GIF on iPhone & iPad
  6. Once installed, head back to the My Shortcuts section and tap on the “Make GIF” shortcut to start using it.

    How to Convert Video to GIF on iPhone & iPad
  7. The shortcut will now request permission to the Photos app. Tap on “OK” to continue.

    How to Convert Video to GIF on iPhone & iPad
  8. Once done, you’ll be shown all the videos that are in your Photos library. Select the video that you want to make a GIF from.

    How to Convert Video to GIF on iPhone & iPad
  9. Now, you can use the sliders to crop out the portion of the video where you want to create the GIF from. Once you’ve made the selection, tap on “Save”.

    How to Convert Video to GIF on iPhone & iPad
  10. The GIF will now be saved to the Photos app on your iPhone. You’ll be able to view the GIF preview within the Shortcuts app itself. Tap on “Done” to exit.

    How to Convert Video to GIF on iPhone & iPad

There you go. You’ve successfully made a GIF from a video stored on your iPhone and iPad.

We’d like to inform you that this particular shortcut can not only be used to convert videos to GIFs, but also make GIFs from Live Photos that you’ve captured using your iPhone or iPad’s camera. That’s right, unlike live photos that require you to press on it to play it, you can convert it to a GIF that automatically plays back even on non-Apple devices.

One particular thing to note here is that this shortcut is available in the Apple Shortcuts Gallery, which means that this is a trusted shortcut. You’re not required to install untrusted third-party shortcuts on your device just because you want a feature that isn’t natively available in the operating system.

This is just one of the many interesting tools that the Shortcuts app gives you access to. Likewise, there’s another shortcut that’s available in the gallery called “Burst to GIF” which as the name suggests converts burst photos to GIFs. If you’re interested in using it, you can learn more about it right here.

We hope you were able to make a lot of GIFs from the videos stored on your iPhone and iPad without running into any issues. How often do you find this particular shortcut useful? Would you rather use a third-party app instead? Feel free to share your personal thoughts and opinions in the comments section down below.

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Posted by: Hamlin Rozario in iPad, iPhone, Tips & Tricks

8 Comments

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  1. Gar says:

    I get that gifs usually loop, however, I was wondering if there is a way to make a gif using Shortcuts and say, don’t loop.?!.

    Thx for this post! Very helpful and I had no problems making a gif that looped. Just looking for a way to have it not loop…

    ✌️

  2. Teri says:

    I was able to use the shortcut and do “video to gif” but all the gifs are in slow motion!

  3. Bill says:

    I sat and took three short, 5 sec, videos but could not get the Shortcut to see them. It reported no video available.

  4. William B Chase says:

    Shortcuts doesn’t see any videos in my photos, I just took a video.

  5. J.M.K. says:

    I’m running iOS 14.8 on two different phones, one an iPhone 8 and the other an iPhone SE II. The Make GIF shortcut doesn’t appear in the Gallery listing as shown in step 4 of your hint. Instead, if one does a search for “GIF” in the same Gallery screen, the shortcut appears. But we’re still unsuccessful, because selecting that Make GIF shortcut then presents a screen much like that shown in step 5, except the “Do:” section is occupied by an endlessly spinning 8-petal countdown wheel. Wait and wait and wait for over 5 minutes, nothing happens. Seems like the Make GIF shortcut is no longer available.

    Maybe if you posted the 12 Actions suggested in step 5 the rest of us could enjoy this useful shortcut?

    Thanks!

  6. J. M. K. says:

    On neither of my two iphones that run ios 14.8 can I find this shortcut in the Gallery as directed. The Gallery listing goes from “Music Quiz” right to “Show Screen-shots.” What gives?

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