The Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) is a bitmap image format that was introduced by CompuServe in 1987. It has since become widely used on the World Wide Web due to its portability, wide support, and support for animation. GIFs use lossless data compression based on the Lempel-Ziv-Welch (LZW) algorithm, which makes them suitable for images with few distinct colors, such as logos, graphics with text, and simple animations. GIF images are limited to a palette of 256 colors, which can result in color banding or posterization in photographs or images with complex color gradients. However, the small file size and animation capabilities have made GIFs a popular choice for web graphics, especially for short, looping animations and reaction images. The format supports transparency, allowing images to be overlaid on web pages without a solid background. While the LZW compression was initially subject to patent restrictions, those patents have since expired, making the GIF format freely usable. Despite the emergence of newer image formats like PNG and WebP, GIF remains a prevalent format, particularly for animated content.