To turn a video into a Live Photo on iPhone, you need an app that writes a real Live Photo into your photo library — the Photos app can't do it on its own. With Liveify, a free iPhone app, it takes under a minute and the video never leaves your phone:
- Open Liveify and tap Video to Live.
- Choose a video (MP4 or MOV, up to 60 seconds).
- Drag the window over the moment you want — it snaps to 3 seconds.
- Tap the clip, swipe to the frame you like and tap Set as cover.
- Tap Make It Live!, then Save to Photos. The result shows up in Photos with a LIVE badge.
The whole flow in 40 seconds. Screens from Liveify 1.15 on iOS 26.5.
Why you need an app (and not just a renamed file)
A Live Photo isn't a short video with a different name. Apple stores it as a pair: a still photo and a short MOV, linked by shared metadata so Photos treats them as one item. Renaming an MP4 or putting a JPG next to a video doesn't create that pairing, so Photos shows a plain video. As of iOS 26, the Photos app has no built-in "make Live Photo" command for videos, so the pairing has to be written by an app.
Method 1: Liveify (free, on-device)
Liveify builds the Live Photo on your iPhone and saves it through Apple's Photos framework, so Photos recognizes it as a genuine Live Photo. Your first 2 Live Photos are free; after that, saving new ones needs Liveify Plus. The video conversion runs on the phone, not in the cloud, and uses no credits.
Get Liveify on the App Store1. Open Video to Live
Install Liveify, open it and tap Choose a video on the Video to Live card. The first time, iOS asks for access to your photos — allow it (or pick specific videos) so Liveify can read the clip and save the result.
2. Choose your video
Pick any MP4 or MOV up to 60 seconds: a clip you filmed, a screen recording, or a video you saved from another app. If your video is longer, trim it first in Photos — tap Edit, drag the yellow handles, tap Done and choose Save Video as New Clip.
3. Trim to the moment
A Live Photo plays a short moment, so Liveify puts a window over the filmstrip. Drag to move it and pull the edges to trim. The window snaps to 3 seconds — the same length an iPhone camera records — but you can go as short as 1 second, or longer if your clip allows.
Short, continuous motion loops best: a wave, a pour, a hair flip, a wave breaking on the beach.
4. Pick the cover frame
The cover is the still people see before the photo moves, and it's what your Lock Screen shows. Tap the clip, swipe to choose a new cover and tap Set as cover. Pick a sharp frame — motion blur on the cover stands out more than anywhere else.
5. Make it live and save
Tap Make It Live!. The conversion takes a few seconds and ends on "Your moment is alive" — tap the preview for full screen, or press and hold to replay it. Then tap Save to Photos.
Open the Photos app: the new photo has a LIVE badge in the top-left corner, and pressing and holding it plays the motion. If your video had sound, the Live Photo keeps it.
Method 2: Save a TikTok as a Live Photo
Some TikTok videos can be saved straight to Photos as Live Photos: tap Share on the video and look for Live Photo. The option only appears when the creator allows downloads, and it isn't offered on every account or in every region. It also keeps TikTok's own cut of the clip, and you can't choose the cover. For any other video — or to pick the moment and the cover yourself — use Method 1.
Can you do it without an app?
Not reliably. A website can preview a video and let you pick the moment and cover, but saving a working Live Photo into Apple Photos needs a native iPhone workflow. We explain exactly where the browser stops in how to turn a video into a Live Photo without an app.
You can still try the trim and cover steps in your browser with our video to Live Photo converter, then finish in the app.
Set your Live Photo as your Lock Screen
On iOS 17 or later, a Live Photo wallpaper plays its motion when you wake your iPhone (Apple Support):
- Open Settings → Wallpaper → Add New Wallpaper. (Or touch and hold the Lock Screen and tap +.)
- Tap Photos, then Live Photo, and choose your Live Photo.
- Make sure the play button is on, then tap Add.
- Tap Set as Wallpaper Pair, or Customize Home Screen to use a different Home Screen picture.
Liveify writes the same motion metadata the iPhone camera does, which is what iOS checks before it animates a Live Photo on the Lock Screen. For wallpaper-specific tips, see the live wallpaper maker.
Troubleshooting
The result has no LIVE badge. Make sure you're looking at the newest item in Photos, not the original video. If Liveify says "Photos access is off", go to Settings → Apps → Liveify → Photos and allow access, then save again — your Live Photo is still waiting in the app.
The Live Photo doesn't move on the Lock Screen. Check that the play button was on when you added the wallpaper, and turn off Low Power Mode, which pauses wallpaper motion.
The motion looks choppy. Trim to a shorter window with one continuous movement, and start from the highest-quality copy of the video you have.
It plays the wrong moment. Open the video in Liveify again and move the window — the motion and the cover are chosen separately.
"Photos couldn't download the original from iCloud." The video is still in iCloud. Open it in Photos, wait for it to finish downloading, then pick it again in Liveify.
FAQ
How long can a Live Photo be? Photos taken with the iPhone camera are about 3 seconds. Liveify defaults to 3 seconds and lets you go shorter or longer; around 3 seconds works best as a Lock Screen wallpaper.
Will the Live Photo keep the video's sound? Yes. If your video has a soundtrack, Liveify copies it into the Live Photo.
Is it free? Liveify is free to download and your first 2 Live Photos are free. After that, saving new Live Photos needs Liveify Plus.
Does it upload my video? No. Video-to-Live-Photo conversion runs entirely on your iPhone.
Does it work with videos from TikTok, Instagram or a screen recording? Yes, as long as the video is saved in your photo library as an MP4 or MOV.
Can I turn a GIF into a Live Photo? Yes — use the GIF to Live Photo converter.
Can I turn a Live Photo back into a video? Yes. See Live Photo to video.