Make a GIF transparent

How to give a GIF a transparent background

A transparent GIF lets the page or chat behind it show through, which is what you want for stickers, logos, overlays and emoji. Open your GIF, switch the frame preview to Source and click the background color. Every pixel close to that color becomes transparent on every frame, so the animation keeps playing with the background removed. Start with a low tolerance and raise it slowly if a faint halo of the old color remains around the edges.

Choosing your settings

Plain, flat backgrounds work best: a white, black or green field behind a logo, pixel art or a cartoon. GIF transparency is on/off per pixel, so soft or blurred edges cannot become semi-transparent. Pixels inside the subject that match the background color will also turn transparent.

If the result needs another pass

If holes appear inside the subject, lower the tolerance or pick a background shade that is not used in the subject. A lingering outline usually means the edge pixels are blended; raise the tolerance a little. Photographic or patterned backgrounds need a cut-out editor instead.

GIF timing note: missing, 0 ms and 10 ms frame delays are read as 100 ms. Other supported delays are retained unless the task changes timing or the frame sequence. Re-encoded animation may therefore differ from a viewer that handles unusually short delays differently.