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How to reverse a video on iPhone

There’s no reverse button in Photos or in iMovie for iPhone. The quickest free route runs in Safari: pick the clip, check the backwards preview, and save the result to your camera roll.

Drop a video to reverse

Watch it play backwards straight away, keep or reverse the sound, then save an MP4, GIF or WebP. Up to a minute at a time.Pick a video from your photos or files. Up to a minute is reversed at a time.

Works with MP4MOVWebMMKVand more

Your video is reversed on this device and never uploaded.

To reverse a video on an iPhone without installing anything, open this page in Safari, tap Choose a video, pick the clip from Photo Library, and it plays backwards straight away. Tap Export reversed video, then Share or save to Photos and Save Video. The reversed copy lands in your Recents album next to the original, which isn’t changed.

Apple’s own apps don’t do this. Photos can trim, crop and filter a video, and turn a Live Photo into a Bounce, but it has no reverse. iMovie for iPhone has a speed control but no reverse switch either; only iMovie on a Mac has one. So the realistic choices are a browser tool like this one, or a third-party editor such as CapCut, both covered below.

How to reverse a video on iPhone in Safari

Open the page in Safari
Visit this page on your iPhone. Chrome for iPhone works too. There is nothing to install and no account.
Choose the video
Tap Choose a video, then Photo Library, and pick the clip. HEVC videos from the iPhone camera open directly in Safari. The whole clip is selected, up to a minute.
Check the preview and trim
The preview plays your clip backwards. Drag the edges of the window on the Pick the part strip to reverse only part of it, and change Speed if you like.
Choose the sound
Under Export settings, leave Sound off for a silent clip, or turn it on. Reverse the sound too decides whether the audio runs backwards with the picture or forwards underneath it.
Save it to Photos
Tap Export reversed video, then Share or save to Photos and choose Save Video. It appears in the Photos app, ready to post.

Can an iPhone reverse a video on its own?

Not with the apps that come with it. Here is what each one can do:

Photos: trim, straighten, crop, filters and adjustments for videos. No reverse.
Live Photos: the Live menu offers Loop, Bounce and Long Exposure. Bounce plays forwards then backwards, which is a boomerang, not a reverse, and it only works on Live Photos.
iMovie for iPhone: tap a clip and the speed control slows it to 1/8× or speeds it up, but there is no reverse option.
iMovie for Mac does have a Reverse checkbox in its speed settings, so if your videos sync to a Mac through iCloud Photos, that’s another free route.

If what you actually want is the forward-and-back effect, the iPhone boomerang guide covers Bounce and how to save it as a video.

Reverse a video on iPhone in CapCut

CapCut is a free editor from the App Store with a reverse tool. The layout changes between versions, so the names below may sit in slightly different places:

Open CapCut, tap New project, choose the video and tap Add.
Tap the clip on the timeline to select it.
Tap Edit in the toolbar at the bottom, scroll along and tap Reverse. Wait while CapCut processes the clip.
Tap the export button at the top right and save the video to your camera roll.

CapCut needs an account for some features and may add an ending clip to projects; check the end of the timeline before exporting. The CapCut reverse guide goes into the details, including the “reverse failed” error and keeping music playing forwards.

Tips for reversed iPhone videos

Reversing works best on clips with clear motion in one direction: someone jumping into water, pouring a drink, throwing something, a door closing.
For a 9:16 Story or Reel, set Shape to 9:16 before exporting, then drag the preview to choose what stays in the frame.
Slow-motion videos from the Camera app’s Slo-Mo mode reverse very smoothly, because they hold many more frames per second. Set Speed to 0.5× for a slow, dreamy reverse.
If the clip is longer than a minute, reverse it in parts and join them in iMovie.

To play a normal clip slower rather than backwards, see how to make a video slow motion.

Reversing videos on iPhone: questions

Can you reverse a video on iPhone without an app?

Yes, in Safari. Open this page, tap Choose a video, pick the clip and tap Export reversed video. The reversing happens on the iPhone itself and the result saves to Photos through Share or save to Photos.

Does the iPhone Photos app have a reverse option?

No. Photos can trim and edit videos, and its Bounce effect plays a Live Photo forwards then backwards, but it can’t play a normal video in reverse.

Can iMovie reverse a video on iPhone?

No. iMovie for iPhone can change a clip’s speed but has no reverse setting. iMovie for Mac does, in the speed options for a clip.

Will the reversed video keep the sound?

Only if you turn Sound on under Export settings. With Reverse the sound too on, it plays backwards; off, the original sound plays forwards over the reversed picture.

Where does the reversed video go?

When you tap Save Video in the share sheet, it is added to the Photos app as a new video. Your original clip stays as it was.

Does it work on iPad?

Yes. The steps are the same in Safari on an iPad, and with a keyboard attached the shortcuts work too, such as Ctrl or Command and Enter to export.