It looks as if Twitter's latest feature for attracting new members to its site (and keeping the current ones) has been revealed: a new dedicated GIF button inside its mobile app. A report from TechCrunch states that some users noticed the icon appear between the camera and poll buttons inside the Twitter for Android app.

Twitter user Phil Pearlman, one of the few people to spot the new feature, revealed that clicking on the button let users select trending GIFs or choose ones from a "mood category." Shortly after it was discovered, however, the button disappeared from the app. So it looks as if this was a test for a rollout to arrive at a later date.

A large number of social networks and messaging services such as Tumblr, Pinterest, Facebook Messenger, KiK and even Tinder support GIFs, so it's not a huge surprise to learn that Twitter is experimenting with the feature.

When TechCrunch asked Twitter for a statement, the company replied with this:

Last month, it was reported that Twitter had greatly reduced the number of ads it pushed to its most prominent members, and in some cases it had stopped showing ads to them altogether. Should the GIF button eventually be implemented, which it almost certainly will, then it will likely be one of the microblogging site's more effective new features aimed at increasing the appeal of the platform.

And it certainly seems as if current Twitter users are looking forward to using GIFS.