Instagram Stories could soon feature a GIF search library hosted by Giphy

The Instagram logo seen on a smartphone. Image: Reuters[/caption]The report comes after a number of Instagram users spotted a GIF library showing in their Stories. According to a report by The Verge, the feature allows Instagram users to search for GIFs from Giphy's ever-expansive database and overlay them onto their Instagram Stories, similar to how stickers work on the platform.The feature could give Instagram an edge over prime competitors Snapchat who are yet to embrace the idea including animated GIFs on their platform. The backgrounds and transparent bits of the GIFs in the library have been cut out so they blend into whatever image is posted.A report by TheNextWeb in November had stated that Instagram is secretly testing a feature which lets users use GIFs within the app. Instagram did use Giphy as a source for GIFs for the test back then, only to expand the test further now. The partnership with Giphy does not come across as the surprise though, as Instagram’s parent company Facebook has been in partnership with Giphy since it started allowing users to comment GIFs using the Giphy search engine last year.