Twitter Finally Launches Support for Live Photos, Allowing Them to Be Uploaded as GIFs

Twitter today announced support for Apple's Live Photos, which can now be uploaded to Twitter and shared as GIFs.

Apple first introduced ‌Live Photos‌ in 2015 alongside the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, though most social networks still do not support the format and do not allow ‌Live Photos‌ to play when uploaded.

livephotostwitter
‌Live Photos‌ are designed to add movement to still photos to bring them to life, similar to the moving photos in the Harry Potter films. When you take a photo on an ‌iPhone‌ with ‌Live Photos‌ enabled, the ‌iPhone‌ captures a few seconds of video before and after the shot to enable the movement.

‌Live Photos‌ are primarily able to be viewed from ‌iPhone‌ to ‌iPhone‌, but there are apps that can convert them into formats supported by social networks like GIFs and videos, which is what Twitter is planning to do.


Uploading a Live Photo to Twitter to share in a tweet will convert the Live Photo into a GIF that displays the animation. Users just need to select a Live Photo in the Twitter app on iOS and then tap the GIF button to upload.

Those who want to share a Live Photo but don't want it to be shared as an animated GIF can just avoid tapping the GIF button, which will cause it to be uploaded as a traditional still photo.

‌Live Photos‌ support is rolling out to the Twitter app today.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon: New Features for Your iPhone and Release Date

Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1. Release Date Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
iOS 26

6 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.1

Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below. Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
maxresdefault

Apple TV 4K Could Still Launch Before 2025 Ends: All the Rumored Features

Monday October 27, 2025 4:51 pm PDT by
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors. ...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS Tahoe 26.1 Release Candidates

Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:07 pm PDT by
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, tvOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1 updates for testing purposes. The RCs betas come a week after Apple released the fourth betas. The new betas can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software...
M6 MacBook Pro Feature 1

M6 MacBook Pro: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Monday October 27, 2025 9:15 am PDT by
Apple this month refreshed the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, and higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips are expected to follow in early 2026. However, these machines will represent the final update to the current design, with Apple reportedly developing a completely new version of the MacBook Pro packed with next-generation hardware...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

8 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Thursday October 30, 2025 4:42 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
macos tahoe

Here Are Apple's Release Notes for macOS Tahoe 26.1

Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:21 pm PDT by
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of macOS Tahoe 26.1, which means the update will likely see a public launch next week. The release candidate includes notes on what's in the update, so we have a full picture of the new features that Apple has included. macOS Tahoe 26.1 adds AutoMix support over AirPlay, improved FaceTime audio...
ipad mini 7 feature blue

OLED iPad Mini: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Wednesday October 29, 2025 7:13 am PDT by
Rumors are stoking excitement for the next-generation iPad mini that Apple is reportedly close to launching. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released over a year ago? Read on to find out. Processor and Performance Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to...
iPhone Car Key Kia

Another Vehicle Brand Gaining iPhone Car Keys Support

Tuesday October 28, 2025 5:27 am PDT by
Apple is preparing to bring support for its digital car key feature to Jetour vehicles, according to evidence uncovered on Apple's backend by MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. Introduced in 2022, Car Keys allows an iPhone or Apple Watch to unlock a vehicle through the Wallet app. A digital version of a car key is stored in Wallet, and unlocking can be done by holding an Apple Watch or...

Top Rated Comments

wigby Avatar
77 months ago

It's about time!...said the 3 people who use them.
Live Photos is hugely popular. Most people don't realize they're using them (because once it's turned on, it stays on unit you turn off) but they usually are and once they realize they have 3 seconds of video for all of their photos, they go back through all of them and create boomerangs and fun animations.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
danny842003 Avatar
77 months ago

It's about time!...said the 3 people who use them.
This reads as I don’t use Live Photo’s so nobody does.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Herrpod Avatar
77 months ago
It's about time!...said the 3 people who use them.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ErikGrim Avatar
77 months ago

Instead of Live Photos support, Twitter should be working on the poor quality of uploaded images due to compression.
They did that in the same update.



Attachment Image
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
now i see it Avatar
77 months ago
definitely not a fan of Live Photos. Never seen one that added anything interesting to a photo. I have it turned off
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
fmcshan Avatar
77 months ago
Instead of Live Photos support, Twitter should be working on the poor quality of uploaded images due to compression.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)