Live Photo to GIF

A Live Photo is a still with a short video behind it, about three seconds. A browser cannot open the Live Photo itself, so save its video first, then drop the MOV or MP4 here. The whole moment becomes a GIF that loops or bounces, and nothing is uploaded.

Free · no sign-up · runs in your browser

Drop the saved video hereor click to choose a file

MOV or MP4 saved from a Live Photo · up to 300.0 MB · nothing is uploaded

This page reads the video you saved from a Live Photo. It cannot open the Live Photo itself.

Frames per second
Speed
File size

Trim

The bright part of the strip becomes the GIF. Move the two sliders to set where it starts and ends.

Before

Drop the saved video here

After

Your new GIF appears here.

How to use it

  1. Save the video from your Live Photo

    On an iPhone, open the Live Photo in Photos, tap Share and look for Save as Video, which your iOS version may show in a different place. On a Mac, exporting the original from Photos usually gives the picture and a separate MOV.

  2. Drop the MOV or MP4

    Drop the video onto the box. Short clips are kept whole by default, so the full moment is selected. You can still move the trim sliders.

  3. Choose loop or bounce

    Loop plays the moment and starts over. Bounce plays it forward and then back, which hides the jump from the last frame to the first. The line under the settings shows the frames and length.

  4. Convert and download

    Press Convert to GIF. The GIF appears next to a frame of your video with both file sizes, and Download saves it as a .gif file.

Examples made with this tool

Our own MOV sample clips stand in for the video part of a Live Photo here, because they are about the same length. They were run through this page's frame plan, including the bounce order, and our GIF writer. The settings under each example say whether it loops or bounces.

  • Original
    A fox turning its head, from a three second clip, as a looping GIFGIF
    The whole 3 second clip at 10 fps and 240 px wide, in smaller-file mode, set to loop. Thirty frames, three seconds, the same length as the video.Settings usedWhole clip from 0 s to 3.04 s, 10 fps, 240 px wide, loop, smaller mode.MOV 173 KB (480 × 480 px) → GIF 422 KB (240 × 240 px), 30 frames
  • Original
    A small robot waving, from a three second clip, as a bouncing GIFGIF
    The same whole-clip default with Bounce on. Thirty video frames become 58 GIF frames, because the way back skips the first and last frame, and the loop lasts 5.8 seconds.Settings usedWhole clip from 0 s to 3.04 s, 10 fps, 240 px wide, bounce, smaller mode.MOV 67 KB (480 × 480 px) → GIF 402 KB (240 × 240 px), 58 frames
  • Original
    A steaming mug on a table, from a three second clip, as a bouncing GIFGIF
    A calm scene is where bounce suits best: the steam runs forward and then back, and the loop has no jump from the last frame to the first.Settings usedWhole clip from 0 s to 3.04 s, 10 fps, 240 px wide, bounce, smaller mode.MOV 46 KB (480 × 480 px) → GIF 180 KB (240 × 240 px), 58 frames
  • Original
    A corgi trotting across a lawn, trimmed to two seconds, as a looping GIFGIF
    A trimmed version: 0.5 s to 2.5 s at 12 fps and 320 px wide, in smaller-file mode, set to loop. Use the sliders when only part of the moment is good.Settings usedWhole clip from 0.5 s to 2.5 s, 12 fps, 320 px wide, loop, smaller mode.MOV 116 KB (480 × 480 px) → GIF 503 KB (320 × 320 px), 24 frames

Why a Live Photo needs one extra step

A Live Photo is stored as a still image and a short video, and apps show them together. A web page receives only the file you give it, and this tool cannot open the combined bundle, so it does not try to read the Live Photo or a HEIC image.

That is why the first step is to save the video part on your own device. The steps differ between iOS versions, so if Save as Video is not where you expect, look for it in the Share sheet of the Live Photo or search your settings for how your phone exports video.

Loop, bounce and the whole moment

The defaults are set for this kind of clip: the whole short video is kept, the frame rate is 12, the width is 480 px at most, and the smaller-file mode is on, because camera footage makes large GIFs. Longer videos start with their first three seconds.

Bounce is the option a Live Photo suits. It plays the frames forward, then backward without repeating the first and last frame, so the loop has no jump. It roughly doubles the frame count and the length, and the site limit of 300 frames and 30 seconds applies to the result.

A different job from MOV to GIF

The MOV to GIF page is a general converter for any QuickTime file, with a trim you set yourself. This page is for the short clip a Live Photo makes: the whole moment is selected, there is a bounce choice, and the advice is about getting the video out of the Live Photo.

Both pages use the same decoder and GIF writer, so you can switch freely. Use the MOV page when you are converting a longer recording and want to choose the trim first.

Related tools

These browser tools help before or after you convert a Live Photo.

  • MOV to GIF: the general converter for QuickTime and iPhone video of any length.
  • Cut GIF: trim the finished GIF frame by frame.
  • GIF compressor: make the GIF smaller to send or post.

When Live Photo to GIF helps

  • A moment you want to share as a GIF

    Turn a Live Photo of a pet, a toast or a wave into a loop that plays anywhere GIFs do.

  • A bounce loop

    Forward and back makes a short moment feel like a boomerang.

  • A Live Photo from a Mac

    Export the video from Photos and convert it here without any app.

  • A cover or reaction

    Pick the best second of the moment on the strip and send only that.

  • A GIF where a Live Photo will not play

    Some places show only the still of a Live Photo. A GIF moves.

How this tool works and its limits

This is what the converter does with your file, and where it stops.

  • Your file never leaves your device. The video is decoded and the GIF is written in your browser, with no upload and no account.
  • This page cannot open a Live Photo or a HEIC file. It reads the video you saved from it: MOV, MP4 or M4V, up to 300 MB.
  • A GIF made here has at most 300 frames and 30 seconds. A bounce counts both ways, so it is limited to about half as many source frames, and the page offers to shorten the end.
  • The width is up to 640 px and never wider than the video. Frame rates are 10, 12 or 15, and the speed is 0.5, 1, 1.5 or 2 times.
  • Sound is dropped. Some iPhone videos use HEVC, and a browser that cannot decode it shows a message instead of a result.
  • GIF has 256 colours per picture, so camera footage can show banding and the file can be large. The smaller-file mode is on by default.
  • We built and tested the tool in current Chrome with MOV files. The check below asks your own browser what it supports.

Does your browser support this?

This list is checked against the browser you are using right now, by asking it directly. It is not a guess from the browser name.

  • Video decoding (WebCodecs): checking
  • Background encoding (Web Workers): checking

Questions, answered

How do I turn a Live Photo into a GIF?

Save the Live Photo's video, drop the MOV or MP4 above, pick loop or bounce, and press Convert to GIF.

Can I drop the Live Photo itself?

No. A Live Photo is a bundle that a web page cannot read. Save its video part first, and drop that file.

What is bounce?

The GIF plays forward and then backward, so the end flows into the start. It makes the GIF about twice as long, and the limit is checked on the longer result.

Why is my GIF so large?

Camera video has fine detail, and GIF stores every frame as a picture. Lower the width or the frame rate, trim the clip, or keep the smaller-file mode on.

Why can't my browser open the video?

Some iPhone videos use HEVC, which not every browser can decode. The page says so when that happens, and the MOV to GIF page explains the iPhone settings in more detail.

Is the video uploaded?

No. The conversion happens in your browser and the video stays on your device.