How to reverse a video
Rewind effects are popular, but most phones have no reverse button. Here is where it exists, and a way to do it without installing an app.
Why it is not built into most phones
Apple's guide to editing in the Photos app lists cropping, trimming, speed and audio edits, but reversing is not among them. Google's help page for editing videos in Google Photos on Android does not mention reversing either, as of October 2026. Social video apps offer reverse effects, but you have to install them and trust them with your clip.
On a Mac with iMovie
Apple documents it in iMovie on Mac: select the clip in the timeline, click the Speed button to show the speed controls, then select the Reverse checkbox. A reverse-play icon appears on the clip and it plays backwards at the speed you set. Then share or export the movie as a file.
In the browser, without uploading
The reverse video tool takes MP4, MOV, WebM or MKV videos, one or several at once, and saves each as an MP4 that plays backwards.
- Sound: it plays backwards too unless you tick "Remove the sound".
- Output: an MP4, with the video encoded again (H.264 where the browser has it) and the sound as AAC or Opus. Our 4 second test clip came out at the same 640 by 360 size.
- Why it is slower than other video tools: video files can only be decoded forwards from a keyframe, so the page decodes the clip in short pieces from the end and puts the frames in the opposite order. Only about a second or two of frames are held in memory at a time, so a long clip takes longer rather than running out of memory.
Everything happens inside your browser tab, so the video never leaves your device. For a quick boomerang, trim the clip first with Trim video so there is less to reverse.
Ideas that work well
Short clips reverse best: a splash going back into a glass, a jump played backwards, or a rewind transition. To play a clip forwards and then backwards, reverse a copy and join the two with merge videos, or read how to merge multiple videos into one. To change how fast it plays, see how to slow down or speed up a video.
Questions
Can I reverse a video on my iPhone?
Apple's Photos editing tools do not include reverse. You can reverse it in iMovie on a Mac, or use the reverse video tool in Safari or another browser on the phone.
Does the sound play backwards too?
By default yes. Tick "Remove the sound" in the reverse video tool if you want a silent result.
Is there a length limit?
The tool sets no size or length limit, and it holds only a short stretch of frames in memory at a time. A long video simply takes longer, and speed depends on your device.
Does reversing change the quality?
The frames are decoded and encoded again into an MP4, at high quality, so the result looks very close to the original but it is not a byte-for-byte copy.