The quickest way: mirror an image online
Every method below works, but each app hides the button in a different place, and some apps cannot do it at all. The tool on this page works the same in every browser:
- Choose, drop or paste the picture (several at once if you like).
- Keep Horizontal for a mirror image, or pick Vertical, Both or Symmetry.
- Download. The file keeps its size and format, and it is never uploaded.
How to mirror an image on iPhone
The Photos app can mirror a picture without any extra app. Open the photo, tap Edit, then open the crop tool. At the top of the screen you will find a flip button (an icon with two triangles) next to the rotate button; tap it once to mirror the photo, then tap Done. The exact position of the button has moved between iOS versions, so look for it near the rotate control.
Photos changes the picture in your library rather than making a copy, although you can undo it later with Revert. To keep the original and get a mirrored copy, open this page in Safari, tap Choose images, select the photo and tap Save to Photos. The same steps work on an iPad.
How to mirror an image on Android
Android gallery apps vary by phone maker. In most of them, open the photo, tap the edit (pencil) icon and go to the crop or transform tool; if there is a flip or mirror button, it sits next to rotate. Not every gallery app has one.
If yours does not, open this page in Chrome, tap Choose images and pick the photo from your gallery. Tap Save to Photos (or Download) to keep the mirrored copy. It works the same way on Android tablets and Chromebooks.
How to mirror an image on Windows
Microsoft Paint, which comes with Windows, has a reliable flip command. Open the picture in Paint, open the Rotate menu in the Image section of the toolbar and choose Flip horizontal (or Flip vertical). Then use File, Save as to keep the original untouched.
Paint saves in its own choice of quality for JPG files. If you want to keep transparency in a PNG or control the JPG quality, use the online tool in any Windows browser instead: Edge, Chrome and Firefox all work.
How to mirror an image on a Mac
Preview, the app that opens images by default on a Mac, can do it. Open the image in Preview, choose Tools in the menu bar, then Flip Horizontal (or Flip Vertical), and save. Use File, Export first if you want to keep the original.
The Photos app on a Mac has flip commands in its editing view as well. For several pictures at once, the online tool is quicker: drop them all onto the box and download one ZIP.
How to mirror an image in Google Docs
Google Docs has no flip button for a picture placed directly in a document: its image options can resize, rotate and crop, but not mirror. There are two ways around it.
The first uses the built-in drawing editor. Choose Insert, Drawing, New; add the image inside the drawing; select it and open Actions, Rotate, Flip horizontally; then click Save and close. The mirrored picture is now a drawing in your document. Google's own help explains how drawings work in Docs.
The second is often simpler: mirror the image with the tool above, download it, then insert the downloaded file with Insert, Image, Upload from computer. It works the same way in Google Slides.
How to mirror an image in Photoshop
To mirror the whole picture, choose Image, Image Rotation, Flip Canvas Horizontal. This flips every layer together.
To mirror only one layer, select it and choose Edit, Transform, Flip Horizontal. For a mirrored copy next to the original, duplicate the layer first, flip the copy and move it into place. That is also the manual version of the Symmetry mode in our tool.
How to mirror an image in Canva
Select the image in your design and click Flip in the toolbar above the editor, then choose Flip horizontal or Flip vertical. On the Canva mobile app the same option is in the toolbar at the bottom after you tap the image.
Canva flips the element inside the design. To get the mirrored image as a separate file, download the design, or mirror the original picture here first and upload it to Canva.
Mirror, flip, reverse: the words
Apps use different words for the same thing. Mirror, flip horizontal and reverse all mean swapping left and right, which produces a mirror image. Flip vertical means upside down. Rotate is a different operation that turns the picture without reversing it. When a guide says to mirror an image, it almost always means a horizontal flip.
Need to fix a reversed front camera photo? The flip a selfie page explains the settings on iPhone and Android. For upside-down flips and the difference from rotating, see flip image. The mirror image tool home page covers the symmetry effect and printing transfers.
Mirror an image: common questions
How do I mirror an image on iPhone without an app?
In Photos, open the picture, tap Edit, open the crop tool and tap the flip button. Or open this page in Safari, choose the photo, keep Horizontal selected and tap Save to Photos.
Why can't I flip an image in Google Docs?
Docs has no flip option for images in the text. Put the image in a drawing (Insert, Drawing, New) and use Actions, Rotate, Flip horizontally, or mirror it here first and insert the result.
How do I mirror an image for iron-on transfer paper?
Mirror the whole design horizontally before printing, so it reads correctly once pressed onto the fabric. Many printer drivers also have a mirror or T-shirt transfer option; use only one of the two, or the design flips back.
Does mirroring an image change its resolution?
No. A horizontal or vertical flip only moves pixels around. The tool on this page saves the same width and height in the same format.