Rotate image

Rotate an image that came out sideways, or flip it to a mirror image. Turn one picture or a whole batch the same way.

How the files you choose are handled is set out in the privacy policy.

How to rotate an image

  1. Tap Choose pictures and select one or more.
  2. Choose the turn or the flip.
  3. Press Save turned pictures, then save the result.

Turning and flipping are different things

A turn spins the picture, the way you would turn a printed photo on a table. Everything in it stays the way round it was: text still reads normally once the picture is upright.

A mirror or flip reverses the picture, the way a mirror does. Text reads backwards, and a watch moves from the left wrist to the right. No amount of turning produces a mirror image, and no mirror produces a turn.

ChoiceWhat happensTypical reason
Turn rightThe top moves to the right sideA photo taken with the phone held sideways
Turn leftThe top moves to the left sideThe same, held the other way
Upside downTop and bottom swap, and left and right tooA scan fed in the wrong way up
MirrorLeft and right swapA selfie that reversed the writing on a shirt or sign
FlipTop and bottom swapA reflection effect, or a picture from a microscope or projector

Why photos turn up sideways

A phone camera always records the picture the same way round and adds a small note that says which way is up. Most programs read the note and show the photo correctly. Some ignore it, and the photo appears on its side: in an old viewer, on a website, or after an upload.

This tool reads the note first, so the picture you see is the picture as it was meant to look, and then applies your turn. The saved picture has its pixels in the right order and no note, so it looks the same in every program.

Mirrored selfies

Front cameras show a mirror image while you frame the shot, because that feels natural. Some phones save the photo that way too. If the lettering in a selfie reads backwards, choose Mirror to put it right.

What happens to quality

A PNG or WebP picture is turned without any loss. A JPG has to be saved again after turning, which this tool does at high quality. The difference is not visible, but it is good practice to turn a photo once, from the original, and not over and over.

The size in pixels stays the same. After a quarter turn the width and height change places, so a 4000 × 3000 photo becomes 3000 × 4000.

Small angles

This page turns in quarter turns. Straightening a horizon that is a few degrees off is a different job that needs an image editor, because it has to cut the tilted corners away. To cut a picture down after turning it, use crop image. To turn the pages of a PDF, use rotate PDF.

Questions

How do I rotate a picture 90 degrees?

Choose Turn right for clockwise or Turn left for anticlockwise, then save.

How do I flip a picture horizontally?

Choose Mirror. Left and right change places, as in a mirror.

How do I un-mirror a selfie?

Choose Mirror. Mirroring a mirrored picture gives the true view, with text reading the right way.

Does rotating reduce quality?

Not for PNG or WebP. A JPG is saved again at high quality, with no visible change.

Can I rotate many photos at once?

Yes. Choose them together and they are all turned the same way and saved as one ZIP.

Last reviewed .

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