# How to convert Live Photos to still photos on iPhone

**Short answer:** turning **Live** off in **Edit** doesn't save space, because Photos keeps the video so you can turn it back on. To convert many at once, open **Photos › Collections › Media Types › Live Photos**, tap **Select**, choose the photos, tap **•••** › **Duplicate** › **Duplicate as Still Photos**, then delete the original Live Photos and empty Recently Deleted. You get back the video part of each one, roughly half of a Live Photo's size.

## Steps
1. Open **Photos › Collections › Media Types › Live Photos** (on iOS 18, scroll down to Media Types).
2. Tap **Select**, then tap the photos to convert, or tap **Select All**.
3. Tap **•••** (More), then tap **Duplicate**.
4. Choose **Duplicate as Still Photos**. Each still is saved as a new photo; the originals stay as they are.
5. Open one of the new stills and swipe up to check its date and place against the original before you delete anything.
6. Go back to **Live Photos**. The new stills aren't Live Photos, so only the originals are listed there. Select the ones you converted and tap the trash button.
7. Empty **Collections › Utilities › Recently Deleted** to get the space back ([why](/guides/empty-recently-deleted-iphone)).

## Why turning off Live in Edit doesn't free space
Apple's way to make a single still is to open a Live Photo, tap **Edit**, and tap **Live** at the top so it becomes a still of its key photo. Like every edit in Photos, it's non-destructive: the original, video included, is kept so you can revert. The file is the same size afterwards. There's also no switch that turns Live off for a whole selection. Only a real still copy, with the Live original deleted, gives the space back.

## What happens to the dates
Apple says a duplicate appears next to the original in your library, so a still made this way should keep its place in the timeline by capture date. Two things can make it look otherwise:
- If your Library is sorted by date added (**Sort › Added**, or **Sort by Recently Added** on iOS 26), the stills appear at the bottom as new items.
- Some people report the stills showing up on the day they converted them.

That's why step 5 matters: check one still's date, location, and whether it's a favorite or in your albums, before you delete the originals. If something didn't carry over, fix it on a few photos with **•••** › **Adjust Date & Time**, or keep the originals.

## How much space you get back
A Live Photo is a still plus a short video of what happens just before and after you take it, with sound. When Apple introduced Live Photos, it said they take about twice the space of a still photo, so converting gives back roughly half of each one. The exact share depends on the iPhone model, resolution and scene; typical sizes are in [do Live Photos take up more space?](/guides/do-live-photos-take-up-more-space).

| | Before | After converting |
|---|---|---|
| What's stored | photo + video + sound | photo only |
| Plays on touch and hold | yes | no |
| Effects (Loop, Bounce, Long Exposure) | available | no longer available |

With iCloud Photos on, the space is freed in iCloud too. If **Optimize iPhone Storage** is on, the iPhone may only hold small versions, so most of the saving shows up in iCloud rather than on the phone.

## Stop taking Live Photos you don't need
- In the Camera app, tap **Live** (or swipe up from Photo mode and tap **Live**) and choose **Off**.
- Go to **Settings › Camera › Preserve Settings** and turn on **Live Photo**, so the Camera remembers Off instead of switching Live back on.
- Live Photos aren't available when ProRAW or HEIF Max is on, so those formats never add a video.

## Doing it with Spaceclear
[Spaceclear](/) lists your Live Photos and shows how much space their videos take in total. Select the ones to convert, or **Select All**, and tap **Convert**. Each one becomes a still with its date, place and favorite kept; the movement is gone. Spaceclear then asks you to review the originals before they're deleted. The free plan converts ten a day, and Spaceclear Pro, $8.99 once, is unlimited. Everything runs on your iPhone. Related: [free up storage without deleting anything](/guides/free-up-iphone-storage-without-deleting-anything).

## FAQ
### Can I turn off Live Photo on all my existing photos at once?
Not with one switch. Turning Live off in **Edit** works one photo at a time and keeps the video, so it saves nothing. **Duplicate as Still Photos** works on a whole selection; after that, delete the Live originals.

### Why don't I see "Duplicate as Still Photos"?
The choice only appears when every selected item is a Live Photo playing as Live. If the selection includes a Loop, Bounce or Long Exposure, or a regular photo, users report that iPhone duplicates everything as it is without asking. Leave those out, or set them back to **Live** first.

### Does converting a Live Photo lose quality?
No. The still is the Live Photo's key photo at full resolution. What you lose is the motion and sound, and the Loop, Bounce and Long Exposure effects.

### Can I undo the conversion?
Until you empty Recently Deleted, yes: recover the original Live Photos from **Collections › Utilities › Recently Deleted** within 30 days. After that, the motion is gone for good.