Reverse a video so it plays backwards, from its last frame to its first, with the sound reversed along with it, kept playing forwards, or taken out. Nothing is uploaded: the whole file is reversed in your browser, so it stays on your device, with no account, no watermark and no length limit beyond your device's memory.
For best results and widest format support, use Chrome or Edge on a desktop computer. Other browsers use a different engine with limited codec support.
Drop your video here
or click to select a file
Works with MP4, MOV, WebM and MKV
🔒 Your files never leave your device - 100% private & secure
Drag a video onto the upload area, or click Select Video. MP4, MOV, WebM and MKV all work, including clips straight from a phone.
Choose what happens to the sound
Reverse the sound along with the picture for the classic rewind effect, keep it playing forwards under the reversed picture, or remove it. Then pick MP4, WebM or MKV.
Reverse and download
Click Reverse Video and download the result. It is exactly as long as the original and starts on the frame your video used to end on.
What reversing a video actually does
A reversed video shows the same frames in the opposite order: the last frame becomes the first, and the clip runs back to where it started. Water flows up into the glass, a jump lands before it takes off, a pile of blocks builds itself from the rubble. It is the oldest trick in film and still one of the most watched effects on TikTok, Reels and Shorts.
Playing a video backwards is harder for software than it sounds. Video is compressed so that most frames are stored as changes from the frame before, which means a player can only ever step forwards from a full picture, called a key frame. To run a clip in reverse, VidShift reads the file in short sections from the end, decodes each section forwards, and writes its frames out in the opposite order. Only one section is in memory at a time, which is what lets a long video be reversed on a phone as well as on a desktop.
Because every frame is written in a new order, the video is re-encoded rather than copied. The new file is encoded at about the same bitrate the original used, so the result looks the same and comes out close to the same size.
Reversed sound, forwards sound, or none
Reversed sound is the classic rewind effect, and it is what most reverse video apps give you: speech turns into the familiar backwards babble and music plays from its last note to its first. Keeping the sound forwards is the better choice when the soundtrack is music you want people to recognise, or when the picture is the only part that should look impossible. Removing it gives you a clean reversed clip to put your own track under, and the add music to video tool is one click away when you do.
Making a boomerang
A boomerang is a clip that plays forwards and then backwards, over and over. Reverse your clip here, then join the original and the reversed copy with merge videos, and repeat the pair with loop video if one bounce is not enough. Short clips work best: two or three seconds of movement makes a boomerang that feels like a loop rather than a rewind.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I reverse a video?
Open the video on this page, choose whether the sound should be reversed, kept or removed, and click Reverse Video. The tool writes a new file that plays from the last frame back to the first, which you can download or share straight away. Nothing is uploaded and you do not need an app or an account.
How do I play a video backwards?
Most players can only play forwards, so the reliable way is to turn the video into a file that already runs backwards. Reverse it here, and the downloaded file plays backwards in any player, on any phone, and on any site you upload it to.
Does the sound play backwards too?
It does by default, which is the classic rewind effect. You can also keep the original sound playing forwards under the reversed picture, or remove the sound entirely. The choice only appears when the video has sound in it.
How do I reverse a video on iPhone or Android?
Open this page in Safari or Chrome on your phone, pick the video from your camera roll or gallery, and reverse it. The result saves back to your phone like any other download, so there is no app to install. Very long videos are better reversed on a computer, which has more memory to work with.
How do I reverse a video for TikTok or Instagram?
Reverse the clip here, download it as MP4, and upload it to TikTok, Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts like any other video. Because the reversal is part of the file, it plays backwards for everyone who watches it, and you can still add music and text in the app afterwards.
Will reversing lower the video quality?
Barely. Reversing changes the order of every frame, so the video has to be encoded again, and VidShift encodes it at about the same bitrate the original used. The resolution and frame rate stay the same and the file comes out close to its original size. To make the result smaller afterwards, use the video compressor.
Can I reverse only part of a video?
Cut out the part you want first with the video trimmer, then reverse that clip here. Reversing a short section is also much quicker than reversing a whole video, because every frame has to be decoded and encoded again.
Is my video uploaded anywhere?
No. The video is read, reversed and saved entirely inside your browser using WebAssembly and WebCodecs. It never leaves your device, which also means there is no upload to wait for and no file size limit set by a server.