Facebook buys GIF company, Giphy following a $400m deal and this will become more tightly integrated into Facebook’s apps.

York-based Giphy whose trove of looping clips of cute animals, bizarre cartoon characters and mugging celebrities are so popular

Not only on social media but in messaging apps.

These will remain its own brand under the deal, but will become more tightly integrated into Facebook’s apps.

“GIPHY makes everyday conversations more entertaining.

We plan to further integrate their GIF library into Instagram and our other apps so that people can find just the right way to express themselves,”

Instagram vice president of product Vishal Shah said in a blog post.

Among the popular GIFs on the platform are loops of Zuckerberg himself testifying on Capitol Hill, slowly drinking a glass of water and saying things like

“That was a big mistake. And it was my mistake.”

The acquisition, first reported by Axios, will let Giphy continue to manage and operate its own library, according to Facebook Learn More

Facebook's obsession with data mining though.