How to make a mirror image online
The tool above is an image mirror that works in any modern browser, on a phone or a computer. There is nothing to install and no account to create. Four steps:
- Add your picture. Choose a file, drag it onto the box, or paste it with Ctrl+V (Cmd+V on a Mac). On a phone, Choose images opens your photo library and the Files app.
- Pick a transform. Horizontal creates the classic mirror image, Vertical turns the image upside down, Both does the two at once, and Symmetry reflects one half onto the other.
- Check the preview. It changes the moment you pick a setting, and Show original switches back so you can compare the two.
- Download. The new file has the same pixel size and format as the original, so a 4032 × 3024 JPG comes back as a 4032 × 3024 JPG. Several pictures download together as one ZIP file.
What is a mirror image?
A mirror image is a copy of something reversed from left to right, exactly as it looks in a mirror. Everything keeps its size and shape, but its direction is swapped: a left hand becomes a right hand, a person looking left now looks right, and text reads backwards. Wikipedia has a good explanation of the mirror image in geometry and physics.
In photo editing, making a mirror image means a horizontal flip: every row of pixels is reversed, so the pixel at the far left ends up at the far right. Nothing is cropped, stretched or lost. Mirror the image a second time and you get the original back, pixel for pixel.
Horizontal mirror vs vertical flip
People say mirror, flip and reverse for the same few operations, so here is what each button of this image flipper does.
Horizontal: the true mirror image
Left and right trade places around a vertical line through the middle. This is what a mirror does and what most people want: it un-reverses a selfie, makes backwards text readable, or turns a model to face the other way in a layout.
Vertical: upside down
Top and bottom trade places around a horizontal line. A vertical flip is not the same as turning the picture over: the left side stays on the left. It is how a scene looks reflected in a lake, which is why it is used for water reflection effects. The flip image page starts with this mode selected and explains when you need it.
Both: a half turn
Flipping both ways gives exactly the same pixels as rotating the image 180 degrees. Use it for a scan or photo that came out upside down: a vertical flip alone would leave its text reversed.
Mirror symmetry effect
Symmetry keeps one half of the image and reflects it onto the other half, so the result is perfectly symmetric around the center line. Choose which half to keep: left, right, top or bottom. Mathematicians call this reflection symmetry; designers know it from kaleidoscope patterns, Rorschach-style artwork and symmetric logos.
Try it on a face to see two very different versions of the same person, one made from each side. Try the bottom half on a landscape for an instant water reflection, or the left half of a building to make the facade perfectly even. Because the mirror line runs through the exact center, frame the subject in the middle before you shoot for the cleanest result.
When you need a mirror image
Most people arrive here with one of these jobs:
- A selfie that looks wrong. Front cameras show you a mirror image, so writing on a shirt or a sign comes out backwards. The guide to flip a selfie covers why it happens and how to stop it.
- Iron-on transfers, sublimation and T-shirt printing. Heat transfer paper is printed face down, so the design must be mirrored before printing or the text ends up reversed on the fabric.
- Window decals and glass printing. A sticker read from the outside but applied inside the glass needs a mirrored print.
- Design layouts. A person or product facing out of the page looks better turned toward the text; mirror the image so it faces in.
- Drawing and painting. Artists look at a mirror image of their work to spot proportions that drift, because the brain stops seeing errors in a picture it knows well.
- Consistent product photos. Flip a shot so every item in a grid faces the same direction.
Your images stay on your device
This image mirror runs entirely in your browser. When you add a picture, the page reads it from your device, draws it on an HTML canvas with the mirror applied and hands the result back to you as a download. The image is never sent to a server, so there is nothing for us to store, view or delete.
That also makes it fast: there is no upload to wait for, even for a 20 MB photo on mobile data. There is no account, no watermark and no limit on how many times you use it.
Same size, same format, transparency kept
A mirrored picture keeps the exact pixel width and height of the original. JPG stays JPG, PNG stays PNG and WebP stays WebP. PNG is lossless, so a mirrored PNG has the same quality as the original and keeps its transparent background. JPG and WebP are saved at quality 92 by default; move the quality slider to trade file size for detail.
iPhone photos in HEIC are opened in the browser and saved as JPG, the format every app can read; the tool tells you when a format changes. Very large images are processed at full size wherever the browser allows it. Phones set a limit on how big an image can be in memory (iPhone Safari stops at about 16.7 megapixels), and when a picture is bigger than that, the tool saves the largest size the phone can handle and shows the exact dimensions.
More ways to flip and mirror
Each page below has the same free tool with a guide for one job:
- Flip image: turn a picture upside down, and the difference between flipping and rotating.
- Flip a selfie: unmirror a front camera photo so it looks the way others see you.
- How to mirror an image: step by step on iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, Google Docs, Photoshop and Canva.
Mirror image FAQ
Is this mirror image tool free?
Yes. It is free with no sign-up, no watermark and no daily limit. Processing happens on your own device, so it costs us nothing per image.
Are my pictures uploaded anywhere?
No. The image is read and mirrored inside your browser and saved straight back to your device. It is never sent to our server or anyone else. See the privacy policy.
Does mirroring an image reduce its quality?
The size never changes. PNG is lossless, so nothing changes but the direction. JPG and WebP are compressed again when saved; at the default quality of 92 the difference is not visible, and you can raise it to 100.
How do I mirror an image on iPhone?
Open this page in Safari, tap Choose images, pick the photo, keep Horizontal selected and tap Save to Photos or Download. The Photos app can also flip a photo from its crop tool; the step-by-step guide covers both.
Will a transparent PNG keep its transparency?
Yes. PNG and WebP files keep their transparent areas; the checkerboard in the preview shows where they are. Only JPG has no transparency.
What is the difference between mirroring and rotating?
Mirroring reverses the picture, so text reads backwards. Rotating turns it, so text stays readable but tilted. Mirroring horizontally and vertically together equals a 180 degree rotation.
Can I mirror several images at once?
Yes, up to 30 at a time. Choose or drop them together; the same transform applies to all of them and Download all saves them as one ZIP file.
Which file types does the image flipper accept?
JPG, PNG, WebP and HEIC photos, plus GIF, BMP and AVIF in browsers that can open them, up to 50 MB each. GIF, BMP and AVIF files are saved as PNG.