During the December Pixel Feature Drop of 2023, Google introduced a number of new features to Pixel phones, such as Video Boost for the Pixel 8 Pro and Night Sight Timelapse for other Pixels. However, Google may have left out a feature that allows users to make selfie GIFs unannounced. An eagle-eyed developer has found code for a selfie GIF creator hidden in the latest version of Google Messages.
By enabling an unreleased feature flag, it allows users to long press the camera button to open a circle frame interface for capturing short videos. There, you can choose between your front or rear cameras to record up to 4 seconds of footage. This will then be sent as an autoplaying GIF attachment instead of a regular video. The UI shown still needs polishing but includes a restart option if you want to redo your selfie clip.
Not all Android users will be able to try out this mystery feature yet. Google has not officially added it to Google Messages for regular use. It was accidentally left accessible to developers through coding. Since some past Pixel-exclusive features came to other Android devices later on, we may see selfie GIF capabilities roll out more widely eventually. But for now, Google remains quiet about confirming or denying its plans here. tech fans will have to stay tuned to see if capturing fun moving self-portraits comes to the messages app!
