How to Reverse a Video or Live Photo Online

Reversing a video changes the order of its frames: the last moment plays first. It does not mirror the picture, rotate it, or simply make it slower. For a small rewind effect, you can reverse a selected part of a video or use the video contained in a Live Photo.

Forward · compressed clip

3.00 s · 480 × 270 · 135 KB

Reverse · backward only

3.00 s · 480 × 270 · 129 KB

Play comparisonDownload compressed clip

Choose a file that contains motion

The reverse video tool accepts one MP4, MOV or LIVP package, optionally alongside the Live Photo’s original still. Total input must be 200 MB or less. MP4 and MOV still need a codec your browser can decode; the extension alone does not guarantee playback.

A standalone JPEG or HEIC is a still image. To reverse a Live Photo, export its video from Photos or export the unmodified original on a Mac. Apple documents that an unmodified Live Photo export includes a still and a video. Select the MOV, or the pair together, in the browser tool.

Reverse the selected moment

1. Open the file in the Boomerang and reverse video workspace.
2. Set Playback to Reverse. Boomerang also adds a forward pass, so it produces a different effect.
3. Keep the default full-video range, or select at least 0.2 seconds within the source.
4. Choose half speed, normal speed or double speed, then select the export format.
5. Generate the preview. Check that the action runs backward before downloading.

In this clip, the cats and the water move backward in time. The picture is not mirrored: left and right remain unchanged.

Download GIF or MP4

Use GIF for a continuously looping animated image. Use MP4 when your destination accepts video and you want one to three copies of the reversed sequence inside the file. The preview player can loop an MP4 independently of its encoded cycle count.

MP4 export depends on the browser’s recording support. If it is unavailable, GIF remains available. Keep the tab visible during video recording; hiding it stops the export so it does not silently produce a frozen result. MP4 recording takes roughly the output duration after the input frames have been read.

Sound and quality

This tool exports without audio in both formats. It does not reverse voices or music. The original file stays unchanged. To retain the original audio without reversing the footage, extract the Live Photo’s movie.

The result is a newly encoded animation, sampled at up to 12 frames per second, with at most 60 sampled frames across the whole selection (longer selections have a lower frame rate) with a longest edge of up to 480 pixels. It is intended for short effects, not an original-quality editing master. GIF also uses a restricted palette. At double speed a source selection plays in roughly half the time; at half speed it takes roughly twice as long.

Want a forward-and-back effect instead?

Choose Boomerang in the same tool. It plays forward, then backward, without duplicating the turnaround frames. The Live Photo to Boomerang guide explains this workflow and the difference from Apple’s Bounce effect. Files are processed locally; no video upload is needed.