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Google+ adds animated GIF support to profile images

Google+ adds animated GIF support to profile images

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Google+ GIF profile image
Google+ GIF profile image

Google+ released a number of small but noticeable visual updates to its mobile apps today, but that's not all. The site now supports animated GIFs for user profile photos in addition to within posts, as Google announced in an update this afternoon. The animated GIFs work on both Google+'s desktop and mobile views, though profile GIFs only show up as still images when they appear next to a user's post. The move comes on the heels of Google introducing a separate search filter specifically for the popular, meme-friendly image format. Google's move to embrace the GIF makes Facebook's lack of support for the format all the more conspicuous. It also stands in stark contrast to Twitter, which began blocking animated GIFs from user profile images last fall. Say what you will about Google+, it clearly knows how to deal with it.