How to flip an image horizontally or vertically
To flip an image online, upload it above and choose a direction. A horizontal flip mirrors the picture across a vertical line down the middle: whatever was on the left ends up on the right. A vertical flip mirrors it across a horizontal line, so the top becomes the bottom.
Flipping is not the same as rotating. Rotating 180° turns the picture upside down but keeps it readable if you turn your head; a vertical flip turns it upside down and also reverses it, like a reflection in a lake. If you just need an image the right way up, use rotate instead.
| Action | What happens | Text in the photo |
|---|---|---|
| Horizontal flip | Left and right swap | Reads backwards |
| Vertical flip | Top and bottom swap | Upside down and backwards |
| Rotate 180° | Whole image turns around | Upside down, not reversed |
How to flip a photo on iPhone, Android and Windows
Most phones can flip a photo without extra apps, but the option is buried. On iPhone, open the photo, tap Edit, then the crop icon, and use the flip button in the top corner (it flips horizontally only). On Android, Google Photos has a similar flip under Crop in the editor. On Windows, the Photos app offers Flip under Edit image on recent versions, and Paint has Flip horizontal and Flip vertical under Rotate.
A browser tool is handy when you are on a shared computer, need a vertical flip your phone doesn't offer, or want the same result on any device without hunting through menus.
Flipping in the browser also helps when you need the same flip on a file that isn't a photo from your camera roll, such as a downloaded graphic, a screenshot or an image someone emailed you.
Things to check before you flip
A flip changes how a picture reads, so a quick check saves a redo.
- Text, logos and number plates read backwards after a horizontal flip. Flip only when that's what you want, or crop the text out first.
- Faces look subtly different mirrored, because nobody's face is perfectly symmetrical. That's why your selfie may look 'off' to you once flipped.
- The result is saved as a high-quality JPG, so a transparent background becomes solid. For logos with transparency, flip a copy and check the edges.
