Your Pinterest boards might get a little GIFfy in the near future.
The social platform is currently allowing a test batch of users to pin playable GIFs – as confirmed in a statement:
“We’re always working on ways to help people discover and save the things they love, which can include animated GIFs. We’ve heard from the community that they’d like the ability to post and view GIFs as Pins, so we’re testing ways to make that happen,” said a Pinterest spokesperson.
Until now, users who uploaded or linked to GIFs on Pinterest would only see a still image from the GIF on pinboards. If you wanted to see the GIF in action, you had to follow the link. This new test allows users to click a small “play GIF” button in the bottom left-hand corner of the pin.
Of course, it’s just a test – and only a handful of users have access to the GIF functionality. But as Pinterest said – this is something users want. I’d be surprised to see the company can this test.
Pinterest’s highly-visual user interface seems perfect for GIFs – a content format that has fast increased in popularity over the past couple of years. Why express yourself with a static image when you can express yourself with a GIF?
In other Pinterest news, the company recently acquired VisualGraph to help improve their search and image discovery.
Image via Vimeo, Moving the Still Tumblr