Trim a video on iPhone
Short answer
On iPhone, open the clip in Photos, tap Edit, drag the yellow handles at either end, then Save as New Clip. For exact timecodes, use the trimmer below.
Drop a video here or choose a file
or drop your file here.
MP4 · MOV · MKV — trimmed in your browser, never uploaded
Runs in your browser — your file is never uploaded.
The Photos app already trims video, and for a quick top-and-tail it is the fastest route — no app to install. Tap Edit, drag the yellow handles in the filmstrip, and choose 'Save Video as New Clip' so the original stays intact. Choosing plain 'Save Video' overwrites it, which is the one mistake worth avoiding.
Photos has two limits. You can only drag to a frame you can hit with your thumb, so exact timings are guesswork, and you cannot trim a file that is sitting in Files or iCloud Drive rather than your camera roll. The trimmer on this page takes typed start and end times and accepts any video file, so it handles both — and because it copies the existing streams instead of re-encoding, the cut is lossless and takes seconds.
How to trim a video on iPhone
- 1Open the clip in Photos. Tap the video, then tap Edit in the top-right corner.
- 2Drag the yellow handles. Pull the ends of the filmstrip to the part you want to keep.
- 3Save as a new clip. Tap Done, then 'Save Video as New Clip' to keep the original untouched.
- 4Need exact times?. Open this page in Safari, pick the file, and type the start and end times.
Frequently asked questions
How do I trim a video on iPhone without losing the original?+
Choose 'Save Video as New Clip' rather than 'Save Video' when you tap Done. 'Save Video' writes the trim over the original, though you can still tap Edit → Revert afterwards to undo it.
Can I trim a video on iPhone to an exact second?+
Not reliably in Photos — you are dragging a handle with your finger. Use the trimmer on this page instead and type the start and end times; it runs in Safari on the phone.
Does trimming on iPhone reduce quality?+
No. Photos and this tool both cut without re-compressing, so the section you keep is the same quality as the original recording.