text: Long the domain of web sites and memes, the animated gif may soon be coming to a message near you. A new app makes creating the images simple on a smartphone - and lets you send them using Facebook Messenger. Camoji is one of the first apps to take advantage of Facebook's decision to open up Messenger, revealed at its recent f8 conference in San Francisco. Camoji allows people to add Instagram style filters to their images before sharing them. The GIFs are created in the Camoji app. Once downloaded, users simply tap on the shutter icon to record an animated gif that is up to 2 seconds long. They can then add filters and other effects - similar to Instagram. Camoji lets you record a GIF with unique filters and text and share it to your friends on Messenger, where GIFs animate inline in the conversation. The GIFs are created in the Camoji app. People that have Camoji installed see a Reply button that launches Camoji right from the Messenger conversation so they can quickly record and send a GIF of their own. This type of back and forth is exactly what makes the entire experience beautiful and seamless. 'App discovery is a major challenge for developers,' said Carlos Whitt, Camoji CEO. 'Messenger is opening the door for developers to create innovative new ways for people to connect and express themselves without having to reinvent the social plumbing. 'This is a monumental development.' 'We're excited to have worked with the Messenger team to help people share by easily capturing moments and sharing them seamlessly within Messenger,' said Austin Broyles, Camoji co-founder. 'We feel our integration is truly unique and innovative.' This is the first time the world's biggest social network has opened their Messenger app to seamless integration with third parties, and this level of integration does not exist on other messenger apps. Camoji had previously integrated with iMessage and WhatsApp, but those integrations lacked a way for recipients to easily download Camoji or launch it from a conversation to reply with another GIF. Camoji lets you record a GIF with unique filters and text and share it to your friends on Messenger . Earlier this month Facebook opened up its Messenger service for developers to create apps and for consumers to communicate directly with retailers, in the social media network's latest effort to expand its reach. The firm hopes to transform Facebook's messaging service into one that operates independently of the company's social media network, effectively pitting it against traditional email. It even revealed it will allow smart devices such as doors and home appliances to use the platform. It comes as it faces intensifying competition from Twitter and Google, as well as from fast-growing messaging apps such as Snapchat and WeChat. Facebook unveiled the new features at its annual developer conference in San Francisco, for the first time allowing developers to create apps that function inside the Messenger app, which has more than 600 million users. Forty different apps will be available on Messenger in the coming days, allowing users of the service to send each other sports clips and animations, Facebook said. Users can add text and other effects to their gifs before posting them . Another feature will allow consumers to use Messenger to send a text message to make a restaurant reservation or to receive a notification that a product purchased online has shipped. 'One of the fastest growing and most important members of our family is Messenger,' said Mr Zuckerberg. 'Facebook used to be this single blue app and it did a lot of different things, now Facebook is a family of apps,' he said. 'Moving from being a single service to a family of apps is the biggest shift we've made in our strategy in helping connect people.' The Messenger Platform was also launched, allowing developers to build new services into the app, which is used by 600 million users each month. Mr Zuckerberg said it would give users 'more tools for expression'.
target: One of first apps to take advantage of Facebook's new open approach .
  Allows users to send and record gifs inside Messenger app .
  Instagram style filters can be added to gif images .