Facebook is Buying Giphy to Integrate it with Instagram

Facebook is buying the renowned GIF-making and sharing website Giphy. Facebook has a bought it for a reported price of $400 million. It will be integrated to the massive GIF library into Instagram and other Facebook apps.

Giphy is basically one of the biggest GIF sites on the internet. It offers tools to create, share and remix GIFs. Facebook already depended on the API of Giphy for sourcing GIFs in its apps for years: Instagram, the main Facebook app, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp all already operate with the service. 50% of all of the Giphy’s traffic comes from these apps, and half of it comes from just Instagram, as per Facebook.

As per the new deal, Giphy will operate on as part of the Instagram team with the aim to make it easier to send it simpler to send GIFs and stickers in Instagram stories and direct messages. As of now things will remain the same for Giphy users, as per Facebook.

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Instagram’s VP of product Vishal Shah in a blog post said,  “People will still be able to upload GIFs; developers and API partners will continue to have the same access to Giphy’s APIs; and Giphy’s creative community will still be able to create great content.”

There are many services that depend on the API of Giphy to supply GIFs, including Twitter, Pinterest, Slack, Reddit, and more. Even though the announcement by Facebook would still mean that they can rely on Giphy as they already do, for now. However as these apps compete directly with Facebook, so this new has created an air of tension.