diff --git a/app/javascript/mastodon/features/compose/components/emoji_picker_dropdown.js b/app/javascript/mastodon/features/compose/components/emoji_picker_dropdown.js
index dffa04ff03..dc8fc02ba4 100644
--- a/app/javascript/mastodon/features/compose/components/emoji_picker_dropdown.js
+++ b/app/javascript/mastodon/features/compose/components/emoji_picker_dropdown.js
@@ -157,7 +157,6 @@ class EmojiPickerMenu extends React.PureComponent {
     intl: PropTypes.object.isRequired,
     skinTone: PropTypes.number.isRequired,
     onSkinTone: PropTypes.func.isRequired,
-    autoPlay: PropTypes.bool,
   };
 
   static defaultProps = {
@@ -235,7 +234,7 @@ class EmojiPickerMenu extends React.PureComponent {
   }
 
   render () {
-    const { loading, style, intl, custom_emojis, autoPlay, skinTone, frequentlyUsedEmojis } = this.props;
+    const { loading, style, intl, custom_emojis, skinTone, frequentlyUsedEmojis } = this.props;
 
     if (loading) {
       return <div style={{ width: 299 }} />;
@@ -250,7 +249,7 @@ class EmojiPickerMenu extends React.PureComponent {
           perLine={8}
           emojiSize={22}
           sheetSize={32}
-          custom={buildCustomEmojis(custom_emojis, autoPlay)}
+          custom={buildCustomEmojis(custom_emojis)}
           color=''
           emoji=''
           set='twitter'
@@ -284,7 +283,6 @@ export default class EmojiPickerDropdown extends React.PureComponent {
   static propTypes = {
     custom_emojis: ImmutablePropTypes.list,
     frequentlyUsedEmojis: PropTypes.arrayOf(PropTypes.string),
-    autoPlay: PropTypes.bool,
     intl: PropTypes.object.isRequired,
     onPickEmoji: PropTypes.func.isRequired,
     onSkinTone: PropTypes.func.isRequired,
@@ -346,7 +344,7 @@ export default class EmojiPickerDropdown extends React.PureComponent {
   }
 
   render () {
-    const { intl, onPickEmoji, autoPlay, onSkinTone, skinTone, frequentlyUsedEmojis } = this.props;
+    const { intl, onPickEmoji, onSkinTone, skinTone, frequentlyUsedEmojis } = this.props;
     const title = intl.formatMessage(messages.emoji);
     const { active, loading } = this.state;
 
@@ -366,7 +364,6 @@ export default class EmojiPickerDropdown extends React.PureComponent {
             loading={loading}
             onClose={this.onHideDropdown}
             onPick={onPickEmoji}
-            autoPlay={autoPlay}
             onSkinTone={onSkinTone}
             skinTone={skinTone}
             frequentlyUsedEmojis={frequentlyUsedEmojis}
diff --git a/app/javascript/mastodon/features/compose/containers/emoji_picker_dropdown_container.js b/app/javascript/mastodon/features/compose/containers/emoji_picker_dropdown_container.js
index 699687c698..e6a535a5dc 100644
--- a/app/javascript/mastodon/features/compose/containers/emoji_picker_dropdown_container.js
+++ b/app/javascript/mastodon/features/compose/containers/emoji_picker_dropdown_container.js
@@ -61,7 +61,6 @@ const getCustomEmojis = createSelector([
 
 const mapStateToProps = state => ({
   custom_emojis: getCustomEmojis(state),
-  autoPlay: state.getIn(['meta', 'auto_play_gif']),
   skinTone: state.getIn(['settings', 'skinTone']),
   frequentlyUsedEmojis: getFrequentlyUsedEmojis(state),
 });
diff --git a/app/javascript/mastodon/features/emoji/emoji.js b/app/javascript/mastodon/features/emoji/emoji.js
index b70fc2b373..bda33ca260 100644
--- a/app/javascript/mastodon/features/emoji/emoji.js
+++ b/app/javascript/mastodon/features/emoji/emoji.js
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import { autoPlayGif } from '../../initial_state';
 import unicodeMapping from './emoji_unicode_mapping_light';
 import Trie from 'substring-trie';
 
@@ -5,8 +6,6 @@ const trie = new Trie(Object.keys(unicodeMapping));
 
 const assetHost = process.env.CDN_HOST || '';
 
-let allowAnimations = false;
-
 const emojify = (str, customEmojis = {}) => {
   let rtn = '';
   for (;;) {
@@ -27,7 +26,7 @@ const emojify = (str, customEmojis = {}) => {
         // now got a replacee as ':shortname:'
         // if you want additional emoji handler, add statements below which set replacement and return true.
         if (shortname in customEmojis) {
-          const filename = allowAnimations ? customEmojis[shortname].url : customEmojis[shortname].static_url;
+          const filename = autoPlayGif ? customEmojis[shortname].url : customEmojis[shortname].static_url;
           replacement = `<img draggable="false" class="emojione" alt="${shortname}" title="${shortname}" src="${filename}" />`;
           return true;
         }
@@ -51,14 +50,12 @@ const emojify = (str, customEmojis = {}) => {
 
 export default emojify;
 
-export const buildCustomEmojis = (customEmojis, overrideAllowAnimations = false) => {
+export const buildCustomEmojis = (customEmojis) => {
   const emojis = [];
 
-  allowAnimations = overrideAllowAnimations;
-
   customEmojis.forEach(emoji => {
     const shortcode = emoji.get('shortcode');
-    const url       = allowAnimations ? emoji.get('url') : emoji.get('static_url');
+    const url       = autoPlayGif ? emoji.get('url') : emoji.get('static_url');
     const name      = shortcode.replace(':', '');
 
     emojis.push({
diff --git a/app/javascript/mastodon/reducers/custom_emojis.js b/app/javascript/mastodon/reducers/custom_emojis.js
index f2a8ca5d2e..307bcc7dc4 100644
--- a/app/javascript/mastodon/reducers/custom_emojis.js
+++ b/app/javascript/mastodon/reducers/custom_emojis.js
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ const initialState = ImmutableList();
 export default function custom_emojis(state = initialState, action) {
   switch(action.type) {
   case STORE_HYDRATE:
-    emojiSearch('', { custom: buildCustomEmojis(action.state.get('custom_emojis', []), action.state.getIn(['meta', 'auto_play_gif'], false)) });
+    emojiSearch('', { custom: buildCustomEmojis(action.state.get('custom_emojis', [])) });
     return action.state.get('custom_emojis');
   default:
     return state;