Shrinking a GIF for chat: which setting to touch first#

Chat apps and forums reject big GIFs, and the usual fix, "compress it", hides three different levers. Using them in the right order saves quality.

1. Scale. If the GIF is larger than it will ever be displayed, shrink the dimensions first. A reaction GIF shown in a small chat bubble does not need its original width. Scale runs from 10 to 100 percent.

2. Palette. GIFs store up to 256 colours. Flat graphics, logos and screen recordings rarely need that many. Try 64 and compare.

3. Frames. Skipping frames is the last resort, because motion gets choppier. Keep one frame in every two first.

Check the before and after size each time. Some GIFs are already tight and will barely move, which is useful to know before you spend ten minutes on them.

A free GIF compressor with all three controls runs in the browser on AnimateImage, without sign-up.

AnimateImage is an independent image animation site; the video models it offers are made by third parties not affiliated with it.