How to Make an Animated Lock Screen for Your Phone
Animated lock screens are a pretty gimmick. Your phone has several default options. But if you want to create your own on Android or iOS, you will need a third party app.
On iOS, use intoLive to turn videos, animated GIFs, or photo sets into a live photo. (You can also use any “live photo” you’ve captured with your phone. But since live photos take up space and are otherwise pretty useless, you probably turned them off a long time ago.)
On Android, use Video Live Wallpaper , ZOOP GIF Lockscreen , Video LockScreen Setting, or GIF LockScreen Setting .
Since this is a minor market, these apps are all a little shaky and weird. But they allow you to do some nifty tricks:
Place a GIF on it
The lock screen is the perfect place for GIFs. This works best with high-resolution GIFs, especially vertical ones, as rare as they are. Avoid GIFs with subtitles. Here’s one I made with this Grinch grin GIF :
Make yourself a ghost
Reddit user netpastor materializes out of the dark like a ghost on his custom animated lock screen. Nothing fancy, just a video filmed in a dark room. Netpastor says he just turned the lamp off-screen towards him.
Hide secret photo
On iOS, you can use intoLive to combine two or more still images into one “animation”. It looks like the worst slideshow in the world, but it has at least one practical use. You can hide some information, such as a screenshot of your travel itinerary , behind a more typical lock screen. Then it is still readily available, but not too easy.
But mostly it’s just a fun trick to help you spend a few more seconds ignoring your messages.