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Flip Image

Guide · Updated at every deploy

How to Flip an Image — Online, on iPhone, in Photoshop, Canva and Google Docs

Every editor hides its flip button somewhere different, and two of the platforms people search for most don't have one at all where you'd expect it. Here is the exact path in each app — starting with the ten-second method that needs no app.

The fastest way: flip it online

If the goal is simply a flipped copy of a JPG, PNG or WebP, you don't need to open — or own — an editor. The flip image tool on this site does it in your browser:

  1. Drag the picture onto the drop zone (or tap it to browse; up to 30 files at once).
  2. Click Flip horizontal to mirror it left-to-right, or Flip vertical to turn it upside down. The preview updates as you click.
  3. Press Download. The copy keeps the original format, resolution and transparency.

The flip runs on your own device through the Canvas API, so nothing is uploaded and there is no file-size cap, watermark or signup. If you always want the same axis pre-selected, the mirror image and flip image vertically pages start with it already switched on.

First, which flip do you mean?

Three words get mixed up constantly, and picking the wrong menu item is the usual result. Mirroring (a horizontal flip) swaps left and right — text comes out backwards, which is exactly what fixes a reversed selfie. Flipping vertically turns the picture upside down, like a reflection on water. Rotating spins the image without reflecting it, so text stays readable. If an app only offers rotation, you cannot get a mirror out of it no matter how many times you turn — a 180° rotation and a vertical flip look similar but are not the same picture.

How to flip an image on iPhone

The Photos app has a flip button, but it is tucked inside the crop tool:

  1. Open the photo and tap Edit.
  2. Tap the crop icon at the bottom.
  3. Tap the flip icon in the top-left corner (a triangle split by an arrow). The photo mirrors left-to-right.
  4. Tap Done.

Photos only flips horizontally. To flip vertically on an iPhone, rotate the photo 180° with the rotate button and then apply the flip — the two together equal a vertical flip. Or skip the gymnastics and open the flip image tool in Safari; it offers both axes directly and works the same on a phone.

How to flip an image in Photoshop

Photoshop has two different flips, and grabbing the wrong one is the classic mistake. To flip the entire image, canvas and all:

  1. Go to Image → Image Rotation.
  2. Choose Flip Canvas Horizontal or Flip Canvas Vertical.

To flip one layer only — a logo, a cut-out subject — select the layer, then use Edit → Transform → Flip Horizontal (or Flip Vertical). You can also press Ctrl/Cmd+T for Free Transform and right-click inside the box to find both flips. If your “flip” only moved one element while the background stayed put, you used the Transform flip when you wanted the Canvas one.

How to flip an image in Canva

  1. Click the image in your design to select it.
  2. Click Flip in the toolbar above the canvas.
  3. Choose Flip horizontal or Flip vertical.

This works on photos, graphics and video clips, but not on text boxes — Canva has no way to mirror text. If you need mirrored lettering (for an iron-on transfer, say), export the design as an image first, then flip the exported file with the flip image tool; the whole design mirrors as one flat picture.

How to flip an image in Google Docs

Google Docs cannot flip an inserted image — the image toolbar simply has no flip option. The workaround is to route the picture through the Drawing editor:

  1. If the image is already in the document, click it and cut it (Ctrl/Cmd+X).
  2. Go to Insert → Drawing → New.
  3. Paste the image into the drawing (or use the image button to upload it).
  4. With the image selected, open Actions → Rotate → Flip horizontally or Flip vertically.
  5. Click Save and Close. The flipped image lands in your document.

Quicker alternative: flip the file with the flip image tool first and insert the finished copy — one drag, no drawing canvas, and the image isn't downscaled by the drawing editor.

How to flip an image on Windows and Mac

Both operating systems ship an editor that flips without installing anything.

Windows — Paint

  1. Open the image in Paint.
  2. On the Image section of the toolbar, open the Rotate menu.
  3. Choose Flip horizontal or Flip vertical, then save a copy.

Mac — Preview

  1. Open the image in Preview.
  2. Go to Tools → Flip Horizontal or Tools → Flip Vertical.
  3. Close, or File → Duplicate first if you want to keep the original untouched.

Both apps overwrite the original on save unless you duplicate it first — one more reason the browser route is hard to beat: the flip image tool always writes a new file and leaves your original alone.

Skip the menus entirely

Whatever app your picture came from, the flip itself takes one click here — free, no account, and the photo never leaves your browser. Flip your image now →

Flipping images — quick answers

Does flipping an image lose quality?
No. A flip only reorders pixels along one axis — nothing is resized, cropped or resampled, so the dimensions and detail stay identical. The only caveat is that JPG editors re-encode on save; do the flip once rather than saving repeatedly and you will never see a difference.
How do I flip an image without Photoshop?
Use a browser tool. The flipper on this site mirrors a JPG, PNG or WebP in one click, works on any device, and never uploads your photo — the flip is computed locally in your own tab. Paint on Windows and Preview on a Mac also do it offline for single files.
What is the difference between flipping, mirroring and rotating?
Mirroring is a horizontal flip — left and right swap, so text reads backwards. A vertical flip turns the picture upside down the way a reflection in water is. Rotating spins the image around its centre without reflecting it, so text stays readable. Flipping both axes at once looks identical to a 180° rotation.
Why is text in my selfie backwards, and how do I fix it?
Front cameras usually save the photo the way you saw it in the preview — mirrored. One horizontal flip reverses it back, so shirts, signs and tattoos read correctly again. The mirror image page on this site applies that flip automatically to every file you add.
Can I flip many images at once?
Photoshop can batch it with an Action, but for most people a browser tool is quicker: the flipper here takes up to 30 files per batch, lets each keep its own axis, and downloads the whole set in one go.