ChromeOS may offer to convert screen recordings into animated GIFs

Google is reportedly working on a feature that will allow users to save ChromeOS screen recordings as animated GIFs for easier sharing with others.

According to 9to5Google, ChromeOS could easily record users' screens since last year, with the same basic options and interface as taking a screenshot.

Users can choose whether to record their entire Chromebook screen, a single window, or a manually-selected portion of the screen.

These recordings are now made in the WebM format, which is optimised for the web and intended to save space.

However, WebM is still a relatively new format, some apps do not yet support it. This can be especially troubling when attempting to share a recording with a friend or family member.

In a newly posted code change, the ChromeOS team is experimenting with adding support for GIF recordings, according to the report.

It will enable the ability to record the screen into an animated GIF image from the native screen capture tool.

The GIF animation format has been around since 1987 and is supported almost everywhere, including messaging apps, the report added.

The disadvantage of recording to GIF rather than WebM is that the ChromeOS screen recordings will be significantly larger; however, for shorter, smaller recordings, this may be a worthwhile tradeoff for convenience.

Given that development has only recently begun, it will most likely be several weeks before users see GIF screen recording support on any real Chromebooks, said the report.