How To Convert Video into GIF on iPhone

You can use the Shortcuts app on your iPhone to quickly turn your favorite videos into GIFs — it’s kind of handy, but not super obvious at first. If you’ve ever wanted to create a GIF directly on your device without fiddling with online converters or third-party tools, this is a decent route. It’ll save you some time and give you control over trimming. Keep in mind, though, the built-in shortcut has limited customization options, so if you want fancier GIF edits, you might need an app from the App Store. Here’s how to get it done step-by-step.

Turn Video into GIF on iPhone

Getting the shortcut set up

This method uses the native Shortcuts app, which is usually pre-installed. The idea is to find a ready-made shortcut called ‘Video to GIF’ — or create your own — that grabs the video you pick and turns it into a GIF. On some setups, the process can be a little slow or require permissions to access your photos and videos, so don’t be surprised if it asks for screen permissions. The expected outcome is you get a GIF file you can share or save right into your photo library. It’s pretty straightforward once you get the hang of it, though sometimes the shortcut doesn’t appear immediately, and you might have to add one manually from the Gallery.

How to convert a video to GIF using Shortcuts

Open the Shortcuts app. If you don’t see it on the Home screen, check in the App Library or search for it.
Switch to the Gallery tab at the bottom right corner.
Type “Video to GIF” into the search bar. If you don’t find a ready-made shortcut, you might have to create one or get it from online sources like routine, or check out this GitHub repository for extras.
Tap on the shortcut result, then hit Add Shortcut. Sometimes it takes a second; be patient.
Now, go back to the Shortcuts tab at the bottom left, and you should see the new shortcut listed.
Tap on the Video to GIF shortcut to run it.
It’ll show all videos stored on your device. Pick the one you want to convert. Usually, it’s a quick tap, but on some devices, permissions might pop up asking to access your Photos.
Use the chevrons on either side of the scrubber to trim the clip if needed. This helps if your video’s long or you only want a part of it as a GIF (because, of course, GIFs are better when they’re short and snappy).
Tap Save at the top right to generate the GIF preview. Sometimes the preview is a little laggy, or it doesn’t show right away, so don’t worry—it’s normal.
Finally, hit the Share icon, then choose Save Image to pop it into your Photos app. Now, you’ll have your GIF waiting for you in your gallery.

How to automatically save every GIF you make

This one’s handy if you’re doing multiple GIFs and don’t want to keep manually saving each time. Basically, you tweak the shortcut so it automatically dumps the created GIF into your Photos app. Here’s how:

Launch the Shortcuts app.
Tap that little three dots icon on the Video to GIF shortcut to edit it.
In the editing screen, tap Add Action or scroll until you see different actions. Find and add ‘Save to Photo Album’ — it’s under Media actions.
Make sure it’s positioned after the GIF is created, so it automatically saves every time.
Tap Done at the top right to save your changes.

Now, every time you run that shortcut, the GIF gets saved without extra steps. Not sure why it works sometimes and not others, but on some devices, it’s a little flaky—might need to restart the shortcut app or your phone if it’s acting wonky.

The built-in options are simple but kinda limited if you want more control, like adjusting frame rate, adding captions, or customizing the size. For that, a third-party app like Giphy, ImgPlay, or GIF Maker may be worth exploring. Still, for quick and dirty conversions, this does the job.

Hopefully, this shaves off a few hours for someone. GIFs straight from your iPhone without much fuss — not too bad.

Summary

Use the Shortcuts app to find or create a ‘Video to GIF’ shortcut.
Trim your video if needed, then save or share the GIF directly from the shortcut.
Set up auto-saving if you do this often.

Wrap-up

All in all, turning videos into GIFs on an iPhone isn’t super complicated once you get the shortcut set up. It’s quick, it’s integrated, and you don’t have to deal with clunky online tools. Of course, if you want more features or fancy edits, third-party apps will probably serve better. But for simple conversions, this is pretty decent. Just remember, sometimes shortcuts act up, so a little patience or trial-and-error can be necessary. Fingers crossed this helps someone save a few clicks next time they want to make a quick GIF from their videos — works for me, hope it does for you too.