All about GIF files

The GIF file format has made a real comeback in recent years and is once again one of the most commonly used formats on the internet. The Graphics Interchange Format was originally developed to allow compact image files with transparency to be saved as a sequence of frames and played back by browsers even at slower connection speeds.

In 1987, GIF replaced its predecessor, the RLE format. Developed by Steve Wilhite, the radical innovation of GIFs was their ability to display colour images. With 256 colours and built-in transparency, GIFs became the standard for web browsers thanks to efficient compression.

Although the limitation in image quality is obvious when GIFs are compared directly, and the format was consequently displaced by JPEGs for a time, GIFs made a comeback in the 2010s thanks to the alpha channel and the associated transparency.

Animated GIFs spread on platforms such as Tumblr, and through sites like Giphy, companies, TV broadcasters and film distributors also use GIFs as an easily implementable promotional tool for social media and instant messengers.

GIFs are also frequently used for website banners, as they allow for display even on slower mobile connections.
One of the most popular points of contention regarding the GIF remains its pronunciation. Whilst the common pronunciation uses a voiced G (GIF as in ‘give’), inventor Wilhite intended it to be pronounced GIF as in ‘jungle’ (JIF) – so both pronunciations are legitimate.

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Last updated on April 24, 2026 by Sören Ramspeck with the experience of more than 128,534,129 converted files since 2013.

Convert, open and edit GIF files

Details about GIF files

Software for opening GIF files: Google Chrome; Mozilla Firefox; IrfanView; XnView
Software for editing GIF files: GIMP; Adobe Photoshop; Paint.NET; ezgif.com
MIME-type for GIF: image/gif

All about GIF files

Convert, open and edit GIF files

Details about GIF files

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