Don't panic, Discord isn't losing GIFs as Google shuts down Tenor API

I've said it many times here: I'm old. Recently, my little cousin mocked me for using a reaction GIF because "those are for old people." While he may not care for the animated images, if you've been on social media today, you'll have seen word that Google is shutting down Tenor's API, and you may be concerned that your favorite apps like Discord are suddenly going to become GIF-less. Thankfully, that's not the case.

Tenor is a library of GIFs that has been used across the internet for over a decade. Users can go in and search for one that matches an emotion or references something being discussed and post it on social media. For a long time, Tenor has been the home of GIFs online, and was acquired by Google in 2018.

Its place at the top of the GIF mountain came to an end earlier this year, however, when Google announced plans to make the API, which apps like Discord and Twitter/X used to incorporate the library into their systems, private, essentially signalling the end of Tenor on those platforms.

Now, on June 30, Google has confirmed that Tenor's API is going offline today, and if you've been browsing X today, you'll see hundreds of people in sheer panic that their ability to use GIFs is about to be taken away permanently. Well, I'm here to confirm that isn't the case, and many of your favorite apps have already stopped using Tenor in the build-up to this announcement.

For example, Discord has been testing both Klipy and Giphy since the Spring, moving away from Tenor before the API stopped working. The changeover has been extremely smooth, with your favorite GIFs still appearing in the search box, so many people haven't noticed. However, if you go to Discord right now and look for a GIF, you'll see the box now says "Search Klipy."

WhatsApp also switched off Tenor back in January and opted to go to Klipy, while X has moved to a currently unknown GIF library.

So, if you use GIFs as a form of communication, or just love posting them in response to any questions you're asked, don't panic, as they'll still be available, just from a new provider. I, however, will be limiting my use of them, at least when my judgmental family is around.

If you're not a GIF fiend, though, you should definitely test out Discord's new Spatial Audio system, which makes it sound like you're sitting in the same room as your buddies when you're shouting at each other while playing games.