How to Set a GIF as Your Background Wallpaper on Android

In this guide we’ll show you how to use a GIF as your background wallpaper on Android phones and tablets. This is a neat trick that gives your phone a fresh new change, and a background that’s continuously moving.

We’ve seen more and more questions about this lately, now that the iPhone can set live photos as a wallpaper. Similarly, Google’s Pixel 2 backgrounds change ever so slightly, which is pretty neat.

Read: How to Change Galaxy Note 8 Lockscreen & Wallpaper

Surely you’ve seen a GIF or two almost every time you go online. These looping clips are a huge part of our lives in 2018. So, if you have a favorite GIF, why not add it to your homescreen? With just a few apps, you can set almost any GIF or an MP4 file as your homescreen wallpaper with our instructions below.

Before we begin it’s worth noting that if you have a GIF for your wallpaper you may experience a dip in battery life. That’s because your phone is working hard to show that 24/7, instead of a plain static image like we typically use. If you’re ok with that, here’s how to get started.

Instructions

There are several different apps available that can turn any GIF or MP4 file into a wallpaper, but I found that “GIF Live Wallpaper” is one of the best options. It’s so simple, that we even added their instructional video above to help you complete this task on your phone.

• Download – GIF Live Wallpaper (or similar app)
• Find and save your favorite GIF from Reddit or GIPHY, to name a few (press and hold, and save image)
• Grant GIF Live Wallpaper permission to access photos, and follow the instructions in the video above
• Resize, customize, change the speed of your GIF and more
• Preview your GIF, then hit the checkmark to Set as Wallpaper

Now, your GIF will loop endlessly on your smartphone or tablet homescreen. This is similar to the included “live wallpaper” options on any Android device, only now you get to choose exactly what GIF to use. Giving owners the freedom to add anything and everything to their phone.

So find a neat Matrix letters GIF, PAC-MAN bouncing around your screen or anything else you can imagine (or Google) and use it for a wallpaper. If you’re looking to do the same with videos, try the Video Live Wallpaper app.

Before you go, check out this list of the best free ringtone apps for Android, or this huge list of the 100 best Android apps for 2018.