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Video to Live Photo

Pick a section of your video, choose the frame people see first, and get back the photo and the video that iOS can pair into one Live Photo. Everything happens in your browser, nothing is uploaded.

Checking what this browser can do…

Getting it onto the iPhone

Only the Photos app on a Mac joins the two files into one Live Photo. It takes about a minute, tested and working.

  1. 1

    Get both files onto the Mac

    On a Mac: click "Download both files", they land in Downloads. On the iPhone: tap "Share or AirDrop to a Mac", pick AirDrop and your Mac. They land in Downloads there as well.

  2. 2

    Open Photos on the Mac

    The Photos app that comes with the Mac. Press Command and Space, type "Photos", hit Return.

  3. 3

    Import both files together

    In the Finder, click the photo, hold Command, click the video, then drag both into the Photos window at once. Or in Photos: menu File, Import, select both, "Review for Import", then "Import All New Items". Together is the point: imported one by one, they stay two files.

  4. 4

    Check it

    In the Photos sidebar, open "Imports" and double-click the new picture. "LIVE" sits in the top left corner, and it moves when you hover over it. If there is no LIVE badge, delete both and import them again together.

  5. 5

    Send it to the iPhone

    With iCloud Photos on both devices (Mac: Photos, Settings, iCloud; iPhone: Settings, Photos) it shows up on the iPhone by itself after a moment. Without iCloud: select it in Photos on the Mac, click the share button, choose AirDrop and your iPhone. It goes straight into Photos on the iPhone.

  6. 6

    Use it

    Open it in Photos on the iPhone, "LIVE" is shown at the top, press and hold to play it. Now pick it in the TikTok photo slideshow, or share it and choose "Use as Wallpaper" with the Live setting on.

Without a Mac: on the iPhone itself

No iPhone app can join a photo and a video into one Live Photo, I checked the whole App Store. But several apps build a Live Photo from a video alone. So tap "Share the video only" and hand it to one of these. The clip stays exactly as you trimmed it here, only the still frame is picked by the app, usually the first frame.

I am not connected to any of these apps and do not earn anything from them. They re-encode the video and write their own identifier, which is fine for TikTok and wallpapers.

Where it usually goes wrong

  • "Save to Photos" on the iPhone stores a photo and a video, not a Live Photo. The share sheet saves each file on its own, and no website can change that. Take the route via the Mac, or one of the apps above.
  • AirDropping the two files from the Finder to the iPhone is not enough either, they end up in the Files app. Import them into Photos on the Mac first, then AirDrop the finished Live Photo from Photos.
  • Sending it through WhatsApp, Telegram or a chat usually strips the video part. AirDrop, iCloud Photos and "Copy iCloud Link" keep it.
  • Whether the lock screen offers motion is decided by rules Apple does not publish. If it says "Motion not available", try a still frame from the middle of the clip.

What this does and does not do

  • The pair is built the way iOS expects it: a shared identifier inside both files and a metadata track that marks the still frame, the same as in a file from the iPhone camera.
  • Joining the two into one Live Photo is something only Photos on the Mac can do. On the iPhone, apps build a Live Photo from the video alone. A website has no access to the photo library, so this tool stops at the two files.
  • The video is silent. Encoding audio in the browser only works on very recent devices, and neither TikTok slideshows nor wallpapers use the original sound.
  • The photo is a JPEG, not a HEIC. iOS accepts both, and JPEG is what works in every browser. It is drawn fresh, so the location and camera data of the original are not in it.
  • Everything runs on your device. Your video is never uploaded, which also means nothing is stored anywhere.

Last checked: SEPTEMBER 2026

Related How this becomes a TikTok live slideshow

Common questions

Why do I get two files instead of one?
Because a Live Photo is two files. Apple stores a JPEG and a short MOV and links them through an identifier that sits inside both. Even exporting a Live Photo from the iPhone gives you two files. Apps that seem to hand you one are writing both straight into your photo library, which a website is not allowed to do.
Why is it not a Live Photo after "Save to Photos" on the iPhone?
Because the share sheet stores each file on its own and never looks at the identifier. Only Photos on the Mac, when importing, and apps that use Apple's photo interface join the pair. A website cannot reach that interface, which is why the route goes through the Mac. Without a Mac, use one of the apps above that build a Live Photo from the video alone.
Is anything uploaded?
No. The video is decoded, re-encoded and packed entirely in your browser. It never reaches a server, mine or anyone else.
Which browsers work?
Safari 16.4 or newer, which means iOS 16.4 or macOS Ventura 13.3, plus current Chrome and Edge. Firefox on a computer works from version 130 if the system can encode H.264; Firefox on Android cannot. Where it does not work, the page says so instead of failing quietly.
Why is there no sound?
Encoding audio in the browser only arrived on the iPhone with iOS 26. A Live Photo without sound is valid, and TikTok puts music over it anyway.
How long can it be?
Between 1.5 and 5 seconds. Apple records about 3 seconds, and that is the default here.
Can I use it on an Android phone?
You can create the files, but only iOS turns them into a Live Photo. On Android they stay a photo and a video.
Does it cost anything?
No. No account, no watermark, no cap on how many you make. The technical limits: source file up to 300 MB, sections of 1.5 to 5 seconds, long edge up to 1920 pixels, no sound.

Apple, iPhone, iOS, AirDrop and Live Photos are trademarks of Apple Inc. TikTok is a trademark of ByteDance Ltd. This tool is not affiliated with either company, the names are used descriptively only.