How to Turn Live Photos into Videos or GIFs on Your iPhone.
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Live Photos on iPhone captures a second and a half of video before and after you press the shutter button. If you want to share your Live Photos with almost anyone, you can turn them into a video or GIF.
Save as video on iOS 13 and above
iOS 13 introduced a new option in the Photos app called “Save as Video,” which lets you save a Live Photo as a video with just a tap, without the need for a third-party app.
To do this, open a Live Photo in the Photos app, and then tap the Share button.
In the Share panel, tap “Save as Video.”
Now the Photos app creates a new video next to the Live Photo. The video file also includes audio.
Use shortcuts to save as GIF or video
If you’re a fan of the Shortcuts app, you can also use a shortcut to turn a Live Photo into a video or GIF.
The Shortcuts app is now integrated into iOS 13, iPadOS 13, and later. However, a side effect of this is that Apple, by default, blocks all shortcuts you download from the Internet in case they are a security threat.
When you try to run a third-party shortcut, your iPhone tells you that the shortcut’s security settings won’t allow it.
However, if you’re okay with the risk involved, you can allow untrusted shortcuts. To do this, open the “Settings” app, go to the “Shortcuts” section, and then turn on “Allow untrusted shortcuts”.
In the pop-up window, tap “Allow” and then type your device password to confirm.
To convert Live Photos to video, we use the shortcut from the Shortcut Gallery website.
Open the shortcut link on your iPhone and then tap on “Get Shortcut”.
In the Shortcuts app, scroll down to the page and then tap on “Add Untrusted Shortcut”.
The shortcut is added to your library. Tap on the “Library” tab and then select “Convert LivePhotos to Video”.
This opens the Camera Roll; play an album
Navigate to the photo you want, then touch it to preview the Live Photo.
Tap “Choose.”
The shortcut converts the Live Photo and saves it as a video file at the bottom of the Camera Roll.
Open the Photos app and go to the “Recents” album to find your video.
If you want to turn your Live Photo into a GIF, there is an official shortcut available in the Shortcuts app. Open the Shortcuts app, go to the “Gallery” tab, and then tap on the “Search” box.
Type “Live Photo to GIF” and tap on the first option.
Scroll down and tap on “Add Shortcut”.
Now, go back to “Gallery” and then tap on “Live Photo to GIF”.
This opens the Live Photo gallery. You will see the last 20 Live Photos; touch the one you want.
Live Photo is converted to a GIF and you see a preview. Touch the Share button.
In the Share menu, tap “Save Image” to save the GIF to your camera roll.
Create a custom GIF with GIPHY
You can use the free one to curate your GIF collection, but you can also use it to create a GIF from a Live Photo. In the GIPHY editor, there are tools to add text and effects to your GIF.
To get started, open the GIPHY app and tap the plus sign (+) in the toolbar at the bottom.
If this is your first time using GIPHY, please give the app permission to use the camera.
On the next screen, tap on the Photos button at the bottom right corner.
Select the Live Photo you want to use to create your GIF.
Live Photo will play in the editor. Use the tools to add effects or text. You can also touch the Crop icon to crop the GIF.
When you are done editing the GIF, tap the Next button.
GIPHY gives you the option to upload your GIF to GIPHY, but it is not required. Tap on “Share GIF”.
You will now see two options: “Save Video” and “Save GIF”. Tap “Save Video” to save the edited Live Photo as a video; tap “Save GIF” to save the live photo as a GIF to your camera roll.
Save live photo effects as GIF
If you don’t want to convert a Live Photo to a different format, you can use the Loop effect for Live Photo as a workaround.
Select Live Photo in the Photos app, then swipe up.
In the Effects section, tap “Loop.” The Photos app turns a Live Photo into an autoplaying GIF.
Touch the Share button.
Select an app like WhatsApp.
The Live Photo will be sent as a GIF.
If you like the GIPHY app, check out how you can turn popular GIFs into Live Photos and set them as your iPhone wallpaper.
