Brace Yourself: Facebook Profile Pics Can Now Be GIFs
Photo: Vincent Calderon/Repeatly
Brace yourself for an overload of Facebook profile picture updates at a magnitude we haven’t seen since the social network introduced a rainbow filter in support of gay marriage. Why? Because Facebook just made it possible to use a video as your profile picture.
Specifically, users will be able to record a short, looping clip (think: a Vine or GIF animation) and set it as their profile picture on mobile. If you’ve ditched Facebook for Snapchat, you’ll recognize the update as something already available to Snapchat users. The feature will begin rolling out today for some, so prepare yourself accordingly.
To add a video as your profile, tap the new record button and shoot for up to seven seconds. The short clip will then play on loop on your profile and feed without any sound, and sound will be added if the clip is clicked. Everywhere else, including your newsfeed stories, a regular old thumbnail image will appear.
Photo: Facebook
Facebook is introducing more updates today, too, including the ability to “pin” profile pictures for a set amount of time. “Profile pictures are not just static portraits. They represent what’s going in your life right now and what’s important to you, and we want to give people the tools to better express themselves in this way,” the company explained in a statement.
After a pinned profile picture expires, the snap will revert to your usual one. If you struggled to work out when it was OK to swap out your rainbow profile picture, take heed—you can use this feature the next time you decide to turn your snap into a political statement.
You’ll also notice a brand-new layout for profiles, as well as an added “Bio” section appearing at the top of profiles that can be personalized.
For now, the fresh features are available to a handful of iPhone users in the United Kingdom and California, but the rest of us can expect the changes “soon,” Facebook announced. “We believe these improvements to profile will give people more ways to connect and share with each other and express themselves in meaningful ways. We can’t wait to see how people use them.”
