The use of GIFs in the comments section of Reddit has now been expanded to make it available to all users. Giphy announced a new partnership with Reddit that includes a “moderated GIF expansion” that can be searched on Giphy and added in comments by Reddit users.
However, while the partnership technically opens up GIF access to all Reddit users, there are some limitations to be aware of. This GIF reply feature from Giphy is only available to the SFW (Safe for Work) and non-quarantined subreddits.
In addition, this feature can only be available if a moderator chooses to use it. This means, if your subreddit existed prior to the launch of this feature, then moderators must choose to have the feature available and usable on that subreddit.
On the other hand, if your subreddit started after a feature launch, then the feature should be on by default. However, moderators still have access to disable it.
Previously, the options for commenting using GIFs were quite limited. Users can only access it via Powerups, a paid subscription to the subreddit implemented to unlock features, including GIF replies.
Alternatively, users must post a link to the GIF, which must be opened to view the GIF itself in another browser tab. Therefore, the presence of this feature will make it easier for users to interact using GIFs.
