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How to Set a GIF as Live Wallpaper on Your iPhone

GIFs are exciting and they are everywhere. Let us look at some easy ways to set a GIF as Live wallpaper on iPhone. When touched on lock screen they start moving.
How to set a gif as a live wallpaper on your iphone

GIFs are everywhere – Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp chats, Instagram, Reddit, and even inside popular keyboards like SwiftKey. They are a fun and creative way to express your message or lighten up the conversation. People love sharing GIFs and viewing them, so why not set your favorite animated image (GIF) as lock screen wallpaper on your iPhone.

How to set a gif as a live wallpaper on your iphone

Before we do that, please understand that Apple only permits Live Photos to be set as moving wallpaper on iPhone. It does not allow GIFs to be directly set as live wallpaper. But here are some simple ways which we will be using to convert a GIF into a Live Photo and then set it as live wallpaper on iPhone.

Use GIPHY to Set GIFs in to Live Wallpaper on iPhone

First of all download the GIPHY app from the App Store.

Step #1. Open GIPHY on your iPhone.

Open GIPHY App on Your iPhone

You will see popular GIFs on the first screen. You may also search according to your liking. Tap on the one you like.

Step #2. Tap on three vertical dots in the bottom right → Tap on Convert to Live Photo from the bottom pop-up.

Tap on Hamburger icon and Select Convert to Live Photo in GIPHY App on iPhone

Step #3. According to your preference, tap on Save as Live Photo (Full Screen) or Save as Live Photo (Fit to Screen).

Select Preferred Option to Save Live Photo on iPhone

We are halfway there! Now we just have to set our newly saved GIF (or I would say Live Photo) as wallpaper. To do this:

Step #4. Open the Settings app → tap on Wallpaper → Choose a New Wallpaper.

Tap on Choose New Wallpaper in Settings App on iPhone

Here you will see the stock Apple wallpapers under three categories, namely Dynamic, Stills and Live. Below this, you will see all personal images from your camera roll.

Step #5. Select Live Photos from the list below. And, tap on the Live Photo you had saved in step #3.

Tap on Live Photos Album and Select a Picture on iPhone

Step #6. Tap on Set. Make sure that the little circular icon is not crossed (that is, there is no diagonal line on it.)

Tap on Set in iPhone Live Wallpaper

Step #7. Tap on Set Lock Screen. (Live Photos do not work on Home Screen, so there is no point in tapping on ‘Set Home Screen’ or ‘Set Both’. But still, if you do, the Live Photo will act like normal wallpaper.)

Tap on Set Lock Screen Option to Set Your GIF as Live Wallpaper on iPhone

Now lock your phone. On the lock screen, press and hold your finger for a second or two, and you will see the GIF spring into action. Looks nice. Right!

So this is how you can set a GIF as wallpaper on your iPhone. Now in the steps above, we used a GIF that was publicly available on GIPHY.

Convert a GIF to a Live Wallpaper on iPhone

Suppose you have a downloaded GIF from Twitter, Google, 9GAG or some other source; or you have GIFs that you created yourself. In this method, you will learn how to convert a GIF to a Live Photo and set it as your lock screen wallpaper on your iPhone.

Step #1. Open GIPHY on your iPhone and Tap on the plus icon.

Open GIPHY and Tap on Plus icon on iPhone

Step #2. The camera will open. Now tap on the photos icon and select your own GIF from the camera roll.

Tap on Photos icon in Camera and Select GIf in Camera Roll on iPhone

On this screen, you may add text, filters, effects, etc.

Step #3. Now tap on the right-pointing arrow → Tap on Upload to GIPHY.

Tap on Arrow and Tap Upload to GIPHY on iPhone

If you want your GIF to be publicly available, you may log in/sign in or click ‘Maybe Later’ and upload publicly. If you want your GIF to be private, continue reading below.

Step #4. If you do not have a GIPHY account, tap on Sign Up or else tap on Log In.

Enter Details and Tap on Login in GIPHY App on iPhone

Step #5. Tap on Private and then tap on Upload to GIPHY.

Select Private and Tap on Upload to GIPHY on iPhone

Now your GIF is uploaded privately on GIPHY.

Step #6. Tap on the GIF you just uploaded.

Tap on Uploaded GIF to Set as Live Wallpaper on iPhone

Step #7. Tap on three vertical dots in the bottom right of the GIF.

Tap on Hamburger icon Below GIF in GIPHY on iPhone

Step #8. Choose Convert to Live Photo and then choose Save as Live Photo (Fit to Screen) or Save as Live Photo (Full Screen) depending on your preference.

Select Convert to Live Photo and Choose Preferred Option in GIPHY App on iPhone

Step #9. Now repeat Step #3 from Method #1 above. (that is, go to Settings → Wallpaper → Choose a New Wallpaper → Live Photos → Set → Set Lock Screen.)

Another method that does not require uploading and then downloading your GIF is by using the app intoLive. Using this app, you can convert any video, bursts, GIF, or a combination of photos into Live Photo. After that, you can easily set the newly created Live Photo as wallpaper on your iPhone using the steps we have discussed twice above.

Signing off…

Wasn’t this fun! Tell us in the comments which app you used to convert GIF into Live Photo! If you know of any other app that does the same thing, please share the name with us. We will definitely give it a try.

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