What is a GIF file?
GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) was introduced by CompuServe in 1987, which makes it one of the oldest image formats still in daily use. Each frame can hold at most 256 colours, picked from millions, and frames can be strung together into a looping animation. That animation is why GIF survived: it plays everywhere without a video player.
The limits show. Photos and video clips look grainy or banded once squeezed into 256 colours, transparency is all-or-nothing, and the compression is old, so a few seconds of footage can weigh several megabytes. Modern sites often convert uploaded GIFs to MP4 or animated WebP behind the scenes.
GIF at a glance
| Full name | Graphics Interchange Format |
|---|---|
| File extensions | .gif |
| Created by | CompuServe |
| Introduced | 1987 |
| Compression | Lossless, but limited to 256 colours per frame |
| Transparency | On or off per pixel only (no soft edges) |
| Animation | Yes, its main use today |
| Typical size | Large for its quality: a few seconds of video can be several MB |
| Opens on | Every browser, phone, chat app and social network |
| Best for | Short looping animations and reactions |
How to open a GIF file
Any browser plays a GIF: drag it into a tab. To make one, use Video to GIF for clips or GIF Maker for a set of photos. To pull a still frame out, convert it with GIF to PNG.