• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

techzerg

Technology advice, how-tos, reviews & buying guides

  • Home
  • How to
    • Windows
    • Macs
    • iOS, iPhone & iPad
    • Android & Tablet
    • Chromebook
    • Software & Apps
      • Microsoft Office
    • Internet & Web
      • Social media & Instant messaging
      • Network
    • Streaming
      • Streaming TV, Movies, & Devices
      • Music, Podcasts, & Audio
    • Gaming
  • Reviews
  • Buying Guides
  • Best Phone
  • Best Laptop
  • Best TV
  • Best VPN
    • Best Netflix VPN
  • Best Camera
Home > How to > iOS, iPhone & iPad > How to crop a video on your iPhone or iPad in three easy ways, and revert a cropped video to its original version

How to crop a video on your iPhone or iPad in three easy ways, and revert a cropped video to its original version

Create captivating videos like a professional on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch.

By King Osaghae | January 3, 2021

We may earn a commission for purchases through links on our site. Learn more

SHARE ON:
crop video on iPhone
  • There are three simple ways to crop a video on your iPhone or iPad.
  • You can use the Photos app if your iPhone is running iOS 13 or later, or use iMovie if you aren’t running iOS 13. You can also use a third-party app to crop videos on your iPhone.
  • To restore a cropped video back to its original version, use the Revert tool in the Photos app.
  • Visit TechZerg’s homepage for more stories.

Cropping is the process of choosing a section within an image or video and deleting every other part of it. One thing to note is that cropping is not the same as trimming; we’ll explain the difference later in this article.

The process of cropping will always result in modifying the original image or video, such as changing the size or aspect ratio.

Some practical uses of cropping include removing yourself or a friend from a group selfie or removing an unwanted portion from a video, such as an object in the background that ruins the video. Other reasons are optimizing for social media before sharing on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Snapchat, but whatever the reason may be — cropping a video using an iPhone is very easy to do because of the fantastic Apple camera.

If you are a fervent video maker or content creator, that means you make a lot of videos. That also means you crop and edit videos a lot — which demands knowing how to do some editing tasks, including cropping.

This article will guide you through multiple methods you can use to crop your videos, including a simple third-party app.

How to crop a video on iPhone using Photos app (iOS 13 or later)

Note that you can’t use the Camera app on the iPhone to crop videos as you’re filming them. However, if you are running iOS 13 or later, you can crop them after they’ve been filmed using the Photos app. If you aren’t running iOS 13 on your iPhone or iPad, see below how to crop using iMovie.

In iOS 13, Apple implemented built-in video cropping capabilities to the iPhone and iPad. The process is the same as cropping photos using the Photos app. If you’ve used the Photos app on your iPhone to crop a picture before, then the steps below will be familiar and quick to understand.

1. Launch the Photos app.

2. On the “Albums tab,” scroll down to the “Media Types” section and tap Videos.

3. Select the video you wish to crop.

4. Tap Edit in the top-right corner of the screen.

5. Tap the Crop button at the bottom of the Edit screen. It’s shaped like a square with two arrows encircling it.

6. Tap and hold the ‘border handles’ on the edges of the video. Then begin to remove the unwanted areas of the video or drag inwards from any corner to your desired point.

7. Tap Done in the bottom-right to save your changes. Your cropped video is now saved. However, if you later found out you made some mistakes or you want to restore the original video for whatever reason. No worries, because saving a cropped video does not replace the original. Simply tap Edit and tap Revert in the bottom-right of the Edit screen — the original video before it was cropped will be restored.

How to crop a video on iPhone using iMovie

You can easily use the Photos app method above to crop your videos on iPhone, but if you aren’t running iOS 13 or later, you’ll need to use one of the best alternatives to the Photos app, which is iMovie.

iMovie is a native iOS app that makes it easy to crop and edit videos on any Apple device, including the iPhone and iPad. It’s usually pre-installed. If it’s not on your iPhone, you can download it from the App store.

Once iMovie is downloaded, here’s how to crop a video using it:

1. Launch iMovie on your iPhone.

2. Go to Projects and tap the plus sign.

3. Tap Movie.

4. Select the video you wish to crop, and then tap Create Movie at the bottom of the screen. Your screen will be divided into three sections.

5. Tap the video that appears on the timeline section in the bottom-left of the screen.

6. Tap on the Zoom icon (displaying as a small magnifying glass) in the top-right of the screen.

7. You can now use your thumb to pinch-zoom in and out of the video (you’re effectively cropping the video by doing this).

Read Also:  How to do a conference call on your iPhone, and manage participants

8. Press the play button to preview the video.

9. When you’re satisfied with the results, tap Done in the top-left of your screen.

10. To save your newly cropped video, tap the ‘Action’ (Share) icon at the bottom of your screen (it’s shaped like a square with an arrow icon pointing vertically out of it).

11. Finally, tap Save Video, to save the video to your Camera Roll.

One advantage iMovie has over the Photos app is that it still retains the original aspect ratio of your video even after cropping the video.

How to Crop a Video on iPhone With Video Crop

There is yet another way to crop a video on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, by using third-party apps. But the most downloaded and popular, also reputed to be the best video cropping app for iPhone is Video Crop; it’s easy to use and above all free.

You can download Video Crop from the App Store. Here’s how to crop a video using it:

1. Launch Video Crop on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

2. Tap the crop icon in the middle of the screen. You will be presented with video files you’ve recorded on your iPhone.

3. Tap the video you wish to crop to play it, then tap the white checkmark in the top-right of the screen.

4. Tap and hold one of the corners edges of the video and drag it to begin cropping according to how you want it. Do the same to the other corner edge of the video, if desired. You can also tap the center of the video box to move it, if necessary.

5. Once you finished cropping the video, tap the Download symbol located in the top-right of the screen. Watch the cropped video within the app.

6. If you are satisfied with your cropped video, tap Save to save it to your iPhone. Tap More if you wish to share the cropped video to other platforms such as social media.

7. When you’re done, tap the Home icon in the top-right of the screen. You’ll be returned to Video Crop welcome page.

The Video crop app is also handy if you need a particular size for the video. You can preset specific aspect ratios, such as the ratio accepted for uploading to Instagram. The app lets you perform editing tasks using the functions available at the bottom of the screen.

Cropping is different from trimming

Although often used interchangeably, cropping and trimming are two different tasks. Cropping on iPhone or any device involves selecting a section within a video and removing everything outside it. While trimming involves editing or shortening a video runtime or length, usually at the beginning or the end.

In summary, cropping changes what’s in a video from its original file, while trimming makes a video shorter.

If you found this article helpful, you can help support TechZerg by shopping on Amazon. You may also want to check out our how-to guides as well as more helpful articles below.

Sign up for our Newsletter to get the best tech deals, product advice, helpful tips, and more! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Reddit.


About King Osaghae

King Osaghae is a technology researcher and writer who’s been writing about tech-related topics and trends since 2018. He covers everything tech from computers to cameras to online business software. He is the managing editor at TechZerg, meaning that he oversees all the articles TechZerg produces.


Related posts:

How to crop a picture on your iPhone or iPad, and revert a c...
How to take a screenshot on an iPad (iPad Pro, iPad Air, iPa...
How to delete emails on your iPhone (or iPad) in bulk
How to change your iCloud email address on iPhone (or iPad) ...

More Articles:

  • How to crop a picture on your iPhone or iPad, and revert a cropped picture to its original version
  • How to take a screenshot on an iPad (iPad Pro, iPad Air, iPad Mini)
  • How to turn off passcode on an iPhone or iPad
  • How to find MAC address on iPhone or iPad
  • How to reset network settings on iPhone or iPad
  • How to turn off autocorrect on your iPad
  • How to wipe and reset an iPhone or iPad to factory settings
  • How to turn off autocorrect on your iPhone
  • How to delete emails on your iPhone (or iPad) in bulk

Reader Interactions

Leave Your Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Get instant access to tech deals, reviews, helpful tips and more!

  • Popular
  • Recent
Best phone 2021: The 3 best smartphones to buy right now
Best camera 2021: 3 best cameras to buy in 2021
The best VPN services for 2021: Top 3 VPN providers reviewed for privacy, speed, and safety
Best laptop 2021: 9 best laptops worth buying in 2021
Best TV 2021: 3 best awesome flatscreen TVs worth buying in 2021
How to use your smartphone as a mobile hotspot – turn your phone into a Wi-fi hotspot
The best VPN services for 2021: Top 3 VPN providers reviewed for privacy, speed, and safety
Best camera 2021: 3 best cameras to buy in 2021
Best TV 2021: 3 best awesome flatscreen TVs worth buying in 2021
Best phone 2021: The 3 best smartphones to buy right now
Best laptop 2021: 9 best laptops worth buying in 2021
How to use your smartphone as a mobile hotspot – turn your phone into a Wi-fi hotspot

follow us:

Footer

  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms of use
  • Ads disclosure
  • Newsletters

© 2021 TechZerg. All Rights Reserved.