You go to send a GIF the way you always have, and #images is not there. Or it opens to a grid that never fills. Or the GIF goes through and lands as a frozen picture.
When iMessage GIF search is not working, it is usually one of three different problems with three different causes. Most fix lists throw the same ten remedies at all of them. It is quicker to work out which one you have. Start with the first section even if you are sure #images has been deleted; usually it has only moved.
Where #images lives now
#images is Apple's built-in GIF search, and it exists inside the Messages app only. It is not a keyboard, so it never appears in WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else.
Since iOS 17, iMessage apps no longer sit in a strip above the keyboard. They live behind the add button:
- Open a conversation in Messages.
- Tap the + button beside the text field.
- Look for #images. If it is not in the first list, tap More if you see it, or swipe up to show the rest of your apps.
- Tap Find images to search, then tap a GIF to add it.
The first part of that list holds only a handful of apps. To keep #images in view, touch and hold its icon, then drag it up the list.
Not every country gets it
This is the cause most guides bury. Apple's own wording is that #images is not available in all countries or regions. If your iPhone is set to a region where it is not offered, it does not appear, however often you restart.
Because availability depends on the country or region your iPhone is set to, check Settings > General > Language & Region. If you have recently moved, start here.
Be wary of country lists copied around the web; many are years out of date. Apple's support page, Send and save GIFs on your iPhone or iPad, says only that it is not available in all countries or regions.
Follow along in GIF Keyboard: Memes & Emoji
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When iMessage GIF search opens but shows nothing
If #images opens but stays blank or keeps spinning, the feature is there and the problem is getting GIFs into it:
- Check the connection. #images fetches GIFs over the internet, so it needs working Wi-Fi or mobile data. If it fails on one, try the other. If it only fails away from Wi-Fi, check that mobile data has not been switched off for Messages; the per-app switches sit in the mobile data section of Settings, labelled Cellular when the iPhone is set to US English.
- Try a search. Tap Find images and type one plain word, such as birthday. Short, specific searches show quickly whether anything loads at all.
- Close and reopen Messages from the App Switcher. Then restart the iPhone, and install any waiting update under Settings > General > Software Update.
- Check Screen Time. If restrictions are set up, as on many children's phones, they are one possible cause. On a work-managed iPhone, ask whoever manages it.
When it has vanished from the list
If #images is missing from the whole + menu, not just the first rows, go from easiest to hardest:
- Swipe to the end of the list again. It is easy to drag an app out of sight by accident.
- Check it is switched on. Apple keeps the switches for iMessage apps under Settings > Apps > Messages > iMessage Apps. If #images is listed there and off, turn it on.
- Recheck Language & Region. If your region does not offer #images, nothing else here will bring it back.
- Check Screen Time, as above.
Reset All Settings is the last step, not the first
It sits under Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset. Apple says it deletes no data or media, but it resets network settings, so saved Wi-Fi passwords go, along with the keyboard dictionary, location and privacy settings, and your Apple Pay cards. Some people report it brought #images back, others saw no change, so it is a lot of setup to redo on a gamble.
When the GIF sends but arrives still
Here #images has done its job, and something further along is stopping the animation.
- On the receiving iPhone, check Settings > Accessibility > Motion > Auto-Play Animated Images. When it is off, GIFs in Messages and Safari do not play automatically, so every GIF looks still.
- If the other person uses Android, the message does not travel as iMessage. It goes as SMS/MMS or, where the carrier supports it, RCS, and carriers set tight size limits on MMS. Why GIFs fail to reach Android covers that route.
- On your own iPhone, look at Send Low Quality Photo Previews under Settings > Apps > Messages. It sends a smaller preview before the full image, and only the preview when Low Data Mode is on, so turn it off while you test.
To keep a GIF someone sent you, touch and hold it and tap Save. It goes to Photos; saving favourites covers the rest.
A route that does not depend on #images
Even when #images works, it exists only in Messages. If you also send GIFs in WhatsApp, Instagram or Discord, a GIF keyboard is the steadier route, because it lives in the keyboard rather than inside one app. Which apps accept GIFs lists where pasting works.
A third-party keyboard is set up once:
- Install the keyboard app and open it.
- Go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards > Add New Keyboard, and choose it.
- Tap it in the list and turn on Allow Full Access.
- In any chat, tap the globe key to switch to it.
Know what step three is for. Without Full Access, GIF Keyboard still types normally, but searching, copying GIFs and saved replies all need it. Search terms go to its GIF providers; the app says message content is not stored or sent to its servers. Searching still needs a connection, but nothing depends on #images.
If the keyboard keeps switching back to Apple's, see why custom keyboards disappear; using GIFs from the keyboard covers everyday use.
Quick answers
Why did #images disappear after an iOS update?
Usually it has not. Since iOS 17, iMessage apps sit behind the + button, often with #images further down. Swipe up, or tap More, before assuming it has gone.
Is #images available in every country?
No. Apple says it is not available in all countries or regions, and does not promise it everywhere. Country lists found elsewhere are often years old.
Can I get #images back without resetting my iPhone?
Usually, yes. Check the whole + menu, the switches under Settings > Apps > Messages > iMessage Apps, Language & Region, and Screen Time. Reset All Settings is a last resort.
Do GIFs from #images animate for Android contacts?
Not reliably. Messages to Android go as MMS or RCS rather than iMessage, and MMS size limits can shrink a GIF or leave it still.
Where to get it
GIF Keyboard: Memes & Emoji puts GIF, meme and sticker search, saved favourites and Quick Replies in the keyboard itself, so it works in Messages, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, Discord and other apps that accept a third-party keyboard and pasted GIFs. Recent GIFs stay available offline once they have loaded.
Check the bottom of the + menu before anything else. It takes two seconds.