This very brief tutorial will guide you through the steps required to disable (most) animated GIFs in the Google Chrome web browser.
Background
There are a number of extensions that ‘disable’ animated GIFs in Chrome. In this guide I will explain how to install, setup and use the Animation Policy extension – it’s small, easy to setup and best of all it works. It’s also very much worth mentioning that this extension also works in Microsoft Edge, since it’s based on Chrome too.
Disabling Animated GIFs in Chrome
- Head over to the Animation Policy extension page and click the Add to Chrome button.
- Click the Add extension button when prompted.
- To access the settings, click the Extensions icon in your Chrome Toolbar (see screenshot below) and then click the Animation Policy icon (the one that looks like a lightening bolt).
- Finally, select either Allow animated images, but only once or Disable all image animation based on your specific needs.
- Test it out over at Giphy. If you’re testing it out on a page you currently have open, you’ll need to refresh that page in order for the extension to load and disable any animated GIFs on that page.
- That’s it! If you ever need to access the settings again just repeat steps #3-4.