Facebook just purchased GIPHY, the world's leading GIF platform, for a reported $ 400 million. As of now, GIPHY is part of Facebook's Instagram team. Facebook says GIPHY will not fundamentally change, but will see deeper integration in Instagram Stories, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.
GIPHY is not just any standalone GIF website. It is a service integrated into most social media apps. Facebook says that about 25% of GIPHY's traffic comes from Instagram, but the service is also ingrained in sites like Twitter, Reddit, and Pinterest. It is hard to imagine that these Facebook competitors will respond to the buyout.
That said, GIPHY will not undergo any fundamental changes (for now). Facebook plans to keep the GIPHY website open to the public and will continue to work with API partners to deepen GIPHY integration in non-Facebook apps.
Social media companies that want to avoid the GIPHY, which is owned by Facebook, can move to Gfycat, a similar service that offers its API to approved developers. But Facebook could convince its competitors to stay with GIPHY by providing strong development support. It remains to be seen.
Source: Facebook, and via Axios
