diff --git a/src/features/gifPicker/GifPickerDialog.tsx b/src/features/gifPicker/GifPickerDialog.tsx
index 677b953f55..6f51364408 100644
--- a/src/features/gifPicker/GifPickerDialog.tsx
+++ b/src/features/gifPicker/GifPickerDialog.tsx
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
-import {useEffect, useImperativeHandle, useRef, useState} from 'react'
+import {useEffect, useRef, useState} from 'react'
 import {type TextInput} from 'react-native'
 
 import {ErrorBoundary} from '#/view/com/util/ErrorBoundary'
 import {type ListMethods} from '#/view/com/util/List'
-import {ios, useBreakpoints} from '#/alf'
+import {ios} from '#/alf'
 import * as Dialog from '#/components/Dialog'
 import {useThrottledValue} from '#/components/hooks/useThrottledValue'
 import {
@@ -20,20 +20,14 @@ import {useRecentGifs} from '#/features/gifPicker/hooks/useRecentGifs'
 import {type Gif} from '#/features/gifPicker/types'
 
 export function GifPickerDialog({
-  controlRef,
+  control,
   onClose,
   onSelectGif: onSelectGifProp,
 }: {
-  controlRef: React.RefObject<{open: () => void} | null>
+  control: Dialog.DialogControlProps
   onClose?: () => void
   onSelectGif: (gif: Gif) => void
 }) {
-  const control = Dialog.useDialogControl()
-
-  useImperativeHandle(controlRef, () => ({
-    open: () => control.open(),
-  }))
-
   const onSelectGif = (gif: Gif) => {
     control.close(() => onSelectGifProp(gif))
   }
@@ -66,7 +60,6 @@ function GifPickerBody({
   control: Dialog.DialogControlProps
   onSelectGif: (gif: Gif) => void
 }) {
-  const {gtMobile} = useBreakpoints()
   const textInputRef = useRef<TextInput>(null)
   const listRef = useRef<ListMethods>(null)
   const [rawSearch, setRawSearch] = useState('')
@@ -125,6 +118,7 @@ function GifPickerBody({
     textInputRef.current?.clear()
     setRawSearch('')
     setActiveCategory('trending')
+    textInputRef.current?.focus()
   }
 
   const onGoBack = () => {
@@ -182,7 +176,7 @@ function GifPickerBody({
 
   return (
     <>
-      {gtMobile && <Dialog.Close />}
+      <Dialog.Close />
       <GifPickerGrid
         ref={listRef}
         items={items}
diff --git a/src/features/gifPicker/components/GifCategoryPills.tsx b/src/features/gifPicker/components/GifCategoryPills.tsx
index 89033bf51f..44edd69323 100644
--- a/src/features/gifPicker/components/GifCategoryPills.tsx
+++ b/src/features/gifPicker/components/GifCategoryPills.tsx
@@ -23,19 +23,82 @@ export type GifCategory = {
   searchterm: string | null // null = trending/recents (handled by consumer)
 }
 
+/*
+ * Category pill labels are icon-only buttons in the UI; the `label` field is
+ * what screen readers announce. Each is phrased "[topic] GIFs" so the
+ * announcement makes sense in isolation rather than just "Love" or "Happy".
+ */
 export const GIF_CATEGORIES: readonly GifCategory[] = [
-  {id: 'recents', icon: Clock, label: msg`Recents`, searchterm: null},
-  {id: 'trending', icon: Trending, label: msg`Trending`, searchterm: null},
-  {id: 'love', icon: Heart, label: msg`Love`, searchterm: 'love'},
-  {id: 'happy', icon: EmojiSmile, label: msg`Happy`, searchterm: 'happy'},
-  {id: 'sad', icon: EmojiSad, label: msg`Sad`, searchterm: 'cry'},
+  {
+    id: 'recents',
+    icon: Clock,
+    label: msg({
+      message: 'Recent GIFs',
+      comment:
+        'Accessibility label for the icon-only pill that shows previously selected GIFs in the GIF picker.',
+    }),
+    searchterm: null,
+  },
+  {
+    id: 'trending',
+    icon: Trending,
+    label: msg({
+      message: 'Trending GIFs',
+      comment:
+        'Accessibility label for the icon-only pill that shows currently trending/featured GIFs in the GIF picker.',
+    }),
+    searchterm: null,
+  },
+  {
+    id: 'love',
+    icon: Heart,
+    label: msg({
+      message: 'Love GIFs',
+      comment:
+        'Accessibility label for the icon-only pill that filters the GIF picker to GIFs about love/affection.',
+    }),
+    searchterm: 'love',
+  },
+  {
+    id: 'happy',
+    icon: EmojiSmile,
+    label: msg({
+      message: 'Happy GIFs',
+      comment:
+        'Accessibility label for the icon-only pill that filters the GIF picker to happy/joyful GIFs.',
+    }),
+    searchterm: 'happy',
+  },
+  {
+    id: 'sad',
+    icon: EmojiSad,
+    label: msg({
+      message: 'Sad GIFs',
+      comment:
+        'Accessibility label for the icon-only pill that filters the GIF picker to sad/crying GIFs.',
+    }),
+    searchterm: 'cry',
+  },
   {
     id: 'party',
     icon: Celebrate,
-    label: msg`Party`,
+    label: msg({
+      message: 'Party GIFs',
+      comment:
+        'Accessibility label for the icon-only pill that filters the GIF picker to celebration/party GIFs.',
+    }),
     searchterm: 'congratulations',
   },
-  {id: 'yes', icon: Shaka, label: msg`Yes`, searchterm: 'yes'},
+  {
+    id: 'yes',
+    icon: Shaka,
+    label: msg({
+      message: 'Yes GIFs',
+      comment:
+        'Accessibility label for the icon-only pill that filters the GIF picker to affirmation/agreement GIFs.',
+    }),
+    searchterm: 'yes',
+  },
 ] as const
 
 export function GifCategoryPills({
diff --git a/src/features/gifPicker/components/GifPickerErrorBoundary.tsx b/src/features/gifPicker/components/GifPickerErrorBoundary.tsx
index d2fd469fec..a57ad46551 100644
--- a/src/features/gifPicker/components/GifPickerErrorBoundary.tsx
+++ b/src/features/gifPicker/components/GifPickerErrorBoundary.tsx
@@ -10,20 +10,41 @@ export function GifPickerErrorBoundary({details}: {details?: string}) {
   const control = Dialog.useDialogContext()
 
   return (
-    <Dialog.ScrollableInner style={a.gap_md} label={l`An error has occurred`}>
+    <Dialog.ScrollableInner
+      style={a.gap_md}
+      label={l({
+        message: 'An error has occurred',
+        comment:
+          'Accessibility label for the dialog shown when the GIF picker hits an unexpected runtime error and falls back to its error boundary.',
+      })}>
       <Dialog.Close />
       <ErrorScreen
-        title={l`Oh no!`}
-        message={l`There was an unexpected issue in the application. Please let us know if this happened to you!`}
+        title={l({
+          message: 'Oh no!',
+          comment:
+            'Title of the error screen shown when the GIF picker crashes unexpectedly.',
+        })}
+        message={l({
+          message:
+            'There was an unexpected issue in the application. Please let us know if this happened to you!',
+          comment:
+            'Body of the error screen shown when the GIF picker crashes unexpectedly. Encourages the user to report the issue.',
+        })}
         details={details}
       />
       <Button
-        label={l`Close dialog`}
+        label={l({
+          message: 'Close dialog',
+          comment:
+            'Accessibility label for the button that dismisses the GIF picker error dialog.',
+        })}
         onPress={() => control.close()}
         color="primary"
         size="large">
         <ButtonText>
-          <Trans>Close</Trans>
+          <Trans comment="Visible label of the button that dismisses the GIF picker error dialog.">
+            Close
+          </Trans>
         </ButtonText>
       </Button>
     </Dialog.ScrollableInner>
diff --git a/src/features/gifPicker/components/GifPickerHeader.tsx b/src/features/gifPicker/components/GifPickerHeader.tsx
index ce389b8e43..ee50cdb8e4 100644
--- a/src/features/gifPicker/components/GifPickerHeader.tsx
+++ b/src/features/gifPicker/components/GifPickerHeader.tsx
@@ -37,8 +37,16 @@ export function GifPickerHeader({
       <TextField.Root style={a.flex_1}>
         <TextField.Icon icon={Search} />
         <TextField.Input
-          label={l`Search GIFs`}
-          placeholder={l`Search KLIPY`}
+          label={l({
+            message: 'Search GIFs',
+            comment:
+              'Accessibility label for the GIF search input inside the GIF picker dialog.',
+          })}
+          placeholder={l({
+            message: 'Search KLIPY',
+            comment:
+              'Placeholder text inside the GIF search input. KLIPY is the third-party GIF provider; keep the brand name as-is.',
+          })}
           onChangeText={onChangeText}
           returnKeyType="search"
           inputRef={inputRef}
@@ -56,7 +64,11 @@ export function GifPickerHeader({
             shape="round"
             style={a.z_30}
             onPress={onClear}
-            label={l`Clear search`}>
+            label={l({
+              message: 'Clear GIF search',
+              comment:
+                'Accessibility label for the X button inside the search input that clears the typed query and returns to the trending feed.',
+            })}>
             <ButtonIcon icon={X} size="sm" />
           </Button>
         )}
diff --git a/src/features/gifPicker/components/GifPickerItem.tsx b/src/features/gifPicker/components/GifPickerItem.tsx
index d3f5828378..e307e064a3 100644
--- a/src/features/gifPicker/components/GifPickerItem.tsx
+++ b/src/features/gifPicker/components/GifPickerItem.tsx
@@ -28,7 +28,11 @@ export function GifPickerItem({
 
   return (
     <Button
-      label={l`Select GIF "${gif.title}"`}
+      label={l({
+        message: `Select GIF "${gif.title}"`,
+        comment:
+          'Accessibility label for an individual GIF tile in the picker grid. The placeholder is the GIF’s title from the provider.',
+      })}
       onPress={onPress}
       style={a.w_full}>
       {({pressed}) => (
diff --git a/src/features/gifPicker/components/GifPickerPlaceholder.tsx b/src/features/gifPicker/components/GifPickerPlaceholder.tsx
index bdfc98b677..d498a8285e 100644
--- a/src/features/gifPicker/components/GifPickerPlaceholder.tsx
+++ b/src/features/gifPicker/components/GifPickerPlaceholder.tsx
@@ -22,22 +22,43 @@ export function GifPickerPlaceholder({
   const {t: l} = useLingui()
 
   const emptyMessage = isSearching
-    ? l`No GIFs found for "${query}".`
+    ? l({
+        message: `No GIFs found for "${query}".`,
+        comment:
+          'Empty-state message shown in the GIF picker when a search returns zero results. Placeholder is the user’s search query.',
+      })
     : isRecentsEmpty
-      ? l`No recent GIFs yet. Pick one to see it here.`
-      : l`No GIFs to show right now. Try again in a moment.`
+      ? l({
+          message: 'No recent GIFs yet. Pick one to see it here.',
+          comment:
+            'Empty-state message shown in the GIF picker’s Recents tab before the user has selected any GIFs.',
+        })
+      : l({
+          message: 'No GIFs to show right now. Try again in a moment.',
+          comment:
+            'Empty-state message shown when the trending/featured GIF feed returns no results (rare, usually a transient provider issue).',
+        })
 
   return (
     <ListMaybePlaceholder
       isLoading={isLoading}
       isError={isError}
-      onRetry={onRetry}
+      onRetry={isError ? onRetry : undefined}
       onGoBack={onGoBack}
       emptyType="results"
       sideBorders={false}
       topBorder={false}
-      errorTitle={l`Couldn't load GIFs`}
-      errorMessage={l`There was a problem loading GIFs. Check your connection and try again.`}
+      errorTitle={l({
+        message: 'Couldn’t load GIFs',
+        comment:
+          'Title of the error screen shown when the GIF provider request fails.',
+      })}
+      errorMessage={l({
+        message:
+          'There was a problem loading GIFs. Check your connection and try again.',
+        comment:
+          'Body message of the error screen shown when the GIF provider request fails. Encourages the user to retry.',
+      })}
       emptyMessage={emptyMessage}
     />
   )
diff --git a/src/view/com/composer/photos/SelectGifBtn.tsx b/src/view/com/composer/photos/SelectGifBtn.tsx
index 63636fa5d1..151578bbed 100644
--- a/src/view/com/composer/photos/SelectGifBtn.tsx
+++ b/src/view/com/composer/photos/SelectGifBtn.tsx
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
-import {useCallback, useRef} from 'react'
+import {useCallback} from 'react'
 import {Keyboard} from 'react-native'
 import {msg} from '@lingui/core/macro'
 import {useLingui} from '@lingui/react'
 
 import {atoms as a, useTheme} from '#/alf'
 import {Button} from '#/components/Button'
+import * as Dialog from '#/components/Dialog'
 import {GifSquare_Stroke2_Corner0_Rounded as GifIcon} from '#/components/icons/Gif'
 import {useAnalytics} from '#/analytics'
 import {GifPickerDialog} from '#/features/gifPicker/GifPickerDialog'
@@ -19,22 +20,34 @@ type Props = {
 export function SelectGifBtn({onClose, onSelectGif, disabled}: Props) {
   const ax = useAnalytics()
   const {_} = useLingui()
-  const ref = useRef<{open: () => void}>(null)
+  const control = Dialog.useDialogControl()
   const t = useTheme()
 
-  const onPressSelectGif = useCallback(async () => {
+  const onPressSelectGif = useCallback(() => {
     ax.metric('composer:gif:open', {})
     Keyboard.dismiss()
-    ref.current?.open()
-  }, [ax])
+    control.open()
+  }, [ax, control])
 
   return (
     <>
       <Button
         testID="openGifBtn"
         onPress={onPressSelectGif}
-        label={_(msg`Select GIF`)}
-        accessibilityHint={_(msg`Opens GIF select dialog`)}
+        label={_(
+          msg({
+            message: 'Select GIF',
+            comment:
+              'Accessibility label for the button in the post composer that opens the GIF picker dialog.',
+          }),
+        )}
+        accessibilityHint={_(
+          msg({
+            message: 'Opens the GIF picker dialog',
+            comment:
+              'Accessibility hint announced after the GIF picker button label, describing what activating it will do.',
+          }),
+        )}
         style={a.p_sm}
         variant="ghost"
         shape="round"
@@ -44,7 +57,7 @@ export function SelectGifBtn({onClose, onSelectGif, disabled}: Props) {
       </Button>
 
       <GifPickerDialog
-        controlRef={ref}
+        control={control}
         onClose={onClose}
         onSelectGif={onSelectGif}
       />