How to Comment Pictures on TikTok (and Trending Memes)
TikTok comments that include images receive up to 2x more engagement than those with text alone
Sometimes a text comment just isn’t enough. Whether you're reacting with a trending meme or adding original content to a comment thread, using a picture can increase engagement and make your response more memorable.
In this article, we’ll cover how to comment with pictures on TikTok, what types of media are allowed, and how to create or find trending memes you can upload as image comments.
Table of Contents
- How to Comment a Picture on TikTok
- Can You Comment GIFs on TikTok?
- How to Make Your Image Comments More Visible on TikTok
How to Comment a Picture on TikTok
To comment with a picture on a TikTok post, start by loading a post and then open the comment section.
From there, tap the image icon, represented by a simple square landscape, to access your device’s camera roll.
Then, select the picture you want to include in your comment.
Once selected, the image will appear in the comment textbox. You can post it as-is or add up to 150 characters of text alongside it.
All images posted within comments will display in their original aspect ratio within the comment feed.
If you include text, it will always appear above your image. This is useful to keep in mind if you're referencing the image in your comment.
Also worth noting, users can tap the image in the comment feed to view it in fullscreen for more detail.
Most of the pictures that people are uploading to TikTok comments are memes and cutouts. People react to the content with funny stickers, recognizable images, or canonical emotes. One creators on X wrote that this feature has made the TikTok comments section "intolerable right now."
tiktok comment sections are so intolerable right now because everyone has the new photo comment feature and they’re using it to exclusively comment photos that were funny on this app 5 years ago
— syd🐇 (@COSMlCSYD) June 4, 2025
Creators like @jillliannnnnnn on X have said that this feature makes a comment more likely to go viral on TikTok. Creators are getting thousands of likes on the images they upload as TikTok comments.
Keep in mind that you can only attach one image per comment. If you attempt to select more than one, TikTok will display the following message.
Can You Comment GIFs on TikTok?
As of now, TikTok does not support GIF comments in most regions. While there were rumors of limited testing for GIF functionality starting in late 2024, a full global rollout has not yet taken place.
If you try to comment with a GIF, it will appear as a static image using only the first frame of the animation. Until broader support is introduced, GIFs won’t animate within the comment section.
Leaving Comments on Desktop
On TikTok's web browser, things work a little differently. The comment section does not include any image upload options, so you won’t be able to add pictures to your comments. In addition, image comments posted by others won’t be visible either.
Instead, TikTok replaces all images with the placeholder text “[photo].” If you see this while browsing on desktop, it’s not a glitch or an inside joke you’re missing — it simply means an image was posted in the comment.
This is unlikely to change anytime soon. Leaving image commenting out of the desktop experience encourages more users to engage through the mobile app.
According to SEMrush, mobile traffic makes up more than 65% of activity on TikTok, so desktop improvements like this are likely a low priority.
How to Make Your Image Comments More Visible on TikTok
Since image commenting is still a relatively new feature on TikTok, there aren't many established best practices for getting your picture comments noticed. That said, a few simple strategies can help increase your visibility and boost engagement.
Resize Your Image Before Commenting
Since TikTok retains the original aspect ratio of images in comments, certain formats will naturally appear more visible than others.
To see how different image sizes look in the comment feed, I tested four common aspect ratios: 16:9, 1:1, 2:3, and 9:16.
To my surprise, the horizontal aspect ratios appear larger than the vertical ones. This is because TikTok scales all images to the same height, meaning wider images stretch further across the comment section than taller ones.
With that in mind, it's actually better to post horizontal pictures in TikTok comments if you want to boost visibility and increase the chances of engagement.
To resize an image for optimal display, start by uploading it to a dedicated mobile editor. From there, follow these steps:
- Open the Project menu in the bottom toolbar
- Select the Resize Project button
- Choose a size preset from the Size dropdown, then select Resize Project to apply the change
After resizing, your image is ready to export and share in a TikTok comment.
Posting Trending Images and Memes
Another effective way to increase the visibility of your TikTok image comments is by using trending memes. While you might already have a folder of saved images, creating or editing fresh memes for comment sections is easier than ever.
A meme template library gives you quick access to up-to-date content and simplifies the process of personalizing memes.
Using the library linked above, you can create custom memes from a template in just a few simple steps. When added to a TikTok comment as a picture, these memes are more personable than text comments alone.
No matter what picture you choose to include in your TikTok comment, ensuring it is resized and edited is the best way to increase visibility among other comments.
