Since June 1987, the GIF format has been popular for distributing animated memes on social media. On WhatsApp, however, users must tap the image to see the animation.
Animated GIFs will play automatically the first time they are viewed in the latest WhatsApp beta for Android (2.23.10.2). The animation, however, will only play once, and users must tap the picture again to view it again.
It’s a good thing the GIFs don’t loop indefinitely because that can be bothersome. Although this is a minor change, it will make sharing animated memes more enjoyable, which will have a significant impact on your chats.
You may get access to auto-playing GIFs if you are a member of the WhatsApp TestFlight program. If not, the feature will progressively become available to more users until becoming available to everyone.