How to rotate a picture
A photo that shows sideways is quick to fix. Here are the built-in steps on each device, and a browser option for a whole batch.
On an iPhone
Apple's iPhone guide gives these steps in the Photos app: open the photo and tap Edit, tap the crop button, then tap the rotate button, which turns the image 90 degrees each time. The flip button mirrors it horizontally. Tap Done to save. The same page describes a straighten tool for a slightly tilted horizon.
On Android with Google Photos
Google's Photos help says to open the photo, tap Edit, and tap Rotate, which adds 90 degrees with each tap. The crop editor also has a Flip button and a slider for small tilts. Tap Done, then Save.
On a Mac with Preview
Apple's Preview guide says to open the image and click the rotate button in the toolbar, which turns it to the left; hold the Option key and click to turn it to the right. Use Tools, Flip Horizontal or Flip Vertical to mirror it. To change several images at once, show them in one Preview window, choose View, Thumbnails, select them in the sidebar, then use the Tools menu.
In the browser, without uploading
The rotate and flip image tool is useful on a computer without those apps, or for many photos at once. It takes JPG, PNG, WebP, HEIC, AVIF and JPEG XL images.
- Turns: 90 degrees right, 90 degrees left, or 180 degrees. Only quarter turns are offered, not an arbitrary angle.
- Flip: horizontally (mirror left to right) or vertically, alone or with a turn.
- Preview: the first image is shown as it will come out.
- Batch: the same change is applied to every image you drop; several download as a zip.
- Format: keep the original, or choose JPG, PNG or WebP. JPG and WebP output are saved at the quality you set, 92 by default.
In our test, a 600 by 400 JPG rotated 90 degrees right came out 400 by 600 with the corner marker in the expected place. A JPG is saved again at the chosen quality, and PNG stays lossless.
Everything happens inside your browser tab, so the pictures never leave your device. If a photo shows sideways in one app and upright in another, read what EXIF data is, since phones record the orientation as a note; the tool turns the pixels themselves.
Other things you may be rotating
For a sideways video, see how to rotate a sideways video. For PDF pages, see how to rotate a PDF. To change the pixel size of a picture, see how to resize an image to exact pixels.
Questions
How do I rotate a picture on my iPhone?
Open it in Photos, tap Edit, tap the crop button, then tap the rotate button, and tap Done, per Apple's iPhone guide. For a batch, use the rotate and flip image tool in the browser.
Can I rotate by a small angle, like 5 degrees?
Not with the rotate and flip image tool, which does quarter turns and flips. The iPhone Photos app and Google Photos have a straighten slider for small tilts.
Does rotating lower the quality?
PNG stays lossless. A JPG is saved again once at the quality you set, 92 by default; choose 100 for the closest copy.
Can I rotate many photos at once?
Yes. Drop them all on the tool and the same turn applies to each; several download as a zip.