How to send a birthday GIF
Three steps to make and send a personal birthday GIF: type the name, describe a theme, then download or share it in a chat in about 15 seconds.
- Steps
- 3
- Time needed
- About 15 seconds
- File size
- Under 1 MB free, under 4 MB HD
- Picture size
- 600 by 600 pixels free, 1024 by 1024 HD
How to send a birthday GIF in three steps
Type the name
Enter the name exactly as it should appear, accents and hyphens included. Read it once before you go on, because the letters on the GIF are the ones in the box.
Describe the theme
Write the style you want, for example a space party in pastel colours, or tap one of the ready-made themes, then press Make GIF.
Download or share
Save the file to your phone or computer and attach it to a message. The file is small enough for most messengers.
How to send a birthday GIF so it arrives animated
Start from the birthday GIF maker and make one for the person. The file is a normal GIF, which almost every chat app, email program and social network can show moving. Attach it as a file or a photo from your gallery rather than pasting a link, because some apps turn a pasted link into a still preview. If the person sees only a still picture, ask them to tap it once, since some phones pause GIFs to save battery.
Choose a theme that fits the person
The best cards come from a concrete idea: a dog in a party hat for a pet lover, a rocket and a cake for a space fan, a stack of macarons for someone who likes baking. Add a style word such as watercolor, pixel art or paper cut, and one or two colours. Short descriptions work better than long ones, because the picture is drawn from the whole sentence and too many ideas make it crowded. If the first version is not right, press the button again for another take; each take uses your daily free GIF or one pack credit.
Where to send it
A GIF works in a private chat, a family group, an email, a social post or a message in a team channel. For a group, post it at the start of the birthday so it is the first thing the person sees. For a card in the post, you can also open the file on a screen and take a photo, or print the still first frame. Because the format is old and widely supported, there is nothing to install on the receiving end, as described in the history of the GIF format.
If the file is too big or looks wrong
The free GIF is kept under one megabyte and HD pack GIFs under four, which fits the limits of common messengers. If an app still refuses it, send it by email or through a shared folder instead. If the name looks cut off, shorten it to a first name and try again; very long names are set in smaller letters so they fit.
Frequently asked questions
How big is the GIF file?
The free GIF is under one megabyte at 600 by 600 pixels. HD pack GIFs are 1024 by 1024 pixels and stay under four megabytes. Both are small enough for most messengers and email programs.
How long does it take?
About fifteen seconds from pressing the button to seeing the finished GIF.
Do I need an account?
No. You can make and download a GIF without signing up.
Make one now
Type a name and pick a theme.