How to trim a video on iPhone

Trim a video in Photos

1. Open the Photos app and tap the video.
2. Tap Edit.
3. Drag the sliders on both sides of the timeline to set the new start and stop points. Tap Play to preview the result.
4. Tap Done.
5. Choose Save Video to keep only the trimmed version, or Save Video as New Clip to keep the original and add a trimmed copy to your library.

Save Video as New Clip is the safer choice if you plan to share the short version but keep the full recording.

The sliders move in small steps along a strip of thumbnails, so it helps to play the clip first and note roughly where the part you want begins and ends. If you use iCloud Photos, the trimmed version also appears on your iPad and Mac.

Undo a trim

Photos keeps the original footage, so a trim saved with Save Video is not permanent.

1. Open the video you trimmed.
2. Tap Edit.
3. Tap Revert, then tap Revert to Original.

If you used Save Video as New Clip, the original is still in your library. Revert to Original on the new clip undoes other edits such as filters, but it does not bring back the full length.

Remove the sound while you trim

Trimming keeps the audio of the part you keep. To make the clip silent, tap the speaker icon on the editing screen while you are in Edit, so it appears crossed out, then tap Done. Like the trim, this can be reverted later.

Photos can only switch the sound on or off. It cannot lower the volume or silence one part of the clip. For that you need an editor such as iMovie, where you can lower a clip’s volume with the Audio button in the inspector.

Cut out the middle with iMovie

Photos keeps one continuous range from start to end. To remove a part in the middle, use iMovie, Apple’s free editor from the App Store.

1. Open iMovie, start a new movie project and add your video.
2. Scroll the timeline so the playhead sits where the unwanted part starts, tap the clip and choose the split option in the inspector at the bottom.
3. Split again where the unwanted part ends.
4. Tap the piece in between and delete it.
5. Tap Done, then the share button, and choose Save Video.

iMovie’s buttons have moved between versions; the split and delete options are in the clip’s inspector, which opens when you tap a clip in the timeline.

Trim files outside the Photos app

Videos saved in the Files app, received as attachments or stored on a computer are not editable in Photos until you save them to your library. In Safari, MuteVideo’s Trim and mute page can trim MP4, MOV and WebM files directly, and lets you set Sound to As is or Remove before saving. On a phone it handles up to 150 MB per batch.