Riffsy launches customizable GIF keyboard for iOS 8

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Riffsy has added to the onslaught of third party keyboards we’ve seen since iOS 8 launched last week with its new GIF Keyboard. It installs natively, and as the name suggests, it allows you to quickly send a variety of animated GIFs directly from your keyboard.

While it may sound gimmicky, the app has a library of “millions” of GIFs that Riffsy has collected over the past year. And since many of them are tagged with hashtags, it’s actually pretty easy to search for and find a specific GIF that conveys your current mood.

Here are some of the keyboard’s more notable features:

  • Always send the perfect GIF and video responses straight from your keyboard! And it plays inline on iMessage.
  • Browse through categories like reactions, music, trending and more.
  • Search millions of GIFs and videos for the perfect moment.
  • See a GIF you like while browsing on your phone? Save it from Safari with one tap. That means no saving to your camera roll and it’s instantly available from your keyboard.
  • Customize your keyboard with the GIFs you love!
  • Works with your favorite messengers and social networks including iMessage, WhatsApp, Twitter, Messenger, SnapChat, and Email

The GIF Keyboard is fairly easy to use. Once it’s installed, you’ll notice a small group of animated images has replaced your Qwerty. If you don’t see one you like, you can search for a specific tag, or browse through a handful of curated, recent and trending lists.

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Once you’ve found the GIF you want, tap on it to insert it into your text field. There’s also a built-in “standard keyboard,” for when you want to use actual words, and a share sheet extension, for adding new GIFs to your keyboard from within other apps like Safari.

Like all other third party keyboards, this has been a bit buggy for me, but the issues are small things that can be easily ironed out. If you like GIFs, there’s no reason not to try the new GIF Keyboard. It’s available in the App Store for free, for both iPhone and iPad.

To see our list of third-party iOS 8 keyboards, click here.