How to rotate or flip an image
- Drag your images onto the box above, or click to browse. You can load several at once.
- Click Left or Right to rotate 90° at a time, or Flip H / Flip V to mirror. A flip button turns blue while it is active, and clicking it again switches it off. Reset clears every change. The thumbnails show the actual result.
- Optionally choose an Output format, then click Download on any image or Download all. Files are saved with a rotated- prefix.
Important: the transform applies to every image in the list at the same moment, including ones you add later. If only some photos are sideways, process them in a separate batch, or press Clear all before loading the next group.
Rotate vs flip: what's the difference?
Rotating turns the picture around its centre, so a portrait becomes a landscape. Flipping mirrors it: Flip H swaps left and right like a reflection, and Flip V swaps top and bottom. They are not interchangeable. To turn an upside-down scan the right way up you need a 180° rotation, which is two clicks on Right. Using Flip V instead would also turn it upside down, but the result would be mirror-reversed and any text would read backwards. In fact, a 180° rotation is the same as flipping both horizontally and vertically.
What happens to the dimensions
A 90° turn simply swaps width and height. A 4032×3024 landscape photo becomes 3024×4032 portrait, with no resampling at all, because every pixel just moves to a new position. A 180° turn or a flip keeps the original dimensions. This is why rotating is lossless in terms of detail. The only possible loss comes from saving: PNG is lossless, while JPG and WebP output is encoded once more at 92% quality. If you are rotating a precious original, choose PNG, or accept a single extra generation of JPG compression, which is rarely visible.
Why do some photos show up sideways?
Phone and camera sensors record pixels in one fixed direction. When you hold the phone upright, the camera writes a small orientation tag in the file’s metadata (EXIF) saying “display this turned 90°”, rather than rearranging the pixels. Apps that read the tag show the photo upright. Software that ignores it, such as some older programs, upload forms and document editors, shows it sideways. In current browsers the previews here reflect the tag, so a photo that already looks correct on this page is correct in your browser. The file this tool saves is redrawn with the rotation baked into the pixels and no orientation tag, so it appears the same way everywhere. If a photo looks upright here but sideways elsewhere, downloading it from this tool with no rotation applied is one way to fix it.
When to flip
- Mirrored selfies: some front cameras save a mirror-image. Flip H to restore the true orientation, which matters most for signs, clothing text and logos.
- Layout and design: flipping a product shot or a portrait so the subject faces into the page, toward a headline or a button, is a common design trick.
- Reflected or scanned material: scans placed face down, or photos taken in a mirror, can be corrected with a single flip.
Be careful when flipping pictures that contain text, numbers, watches, wedding rings, or recognisable landmarks, because the mirrored version can mislead or look obviously wrong.
Limits of this tool
Rotation happens in 90° steps only. There is no free-angle slider for straightening a tilted horizon by a few degrees, since that requires cropping and filling the corners. The tool also applies one transformation to the whole batch, and it does not resize or crop. Combine it with the image cropper or the image resizer when you need more. Transparent PNGs keep their transparency, but saving as JPG fills transparent areas with white.
Is it private and safe?
Yes. Toolyard transforms images inside your browser on your own device. Your files are never uploaded anywhere, so they stay completely private.
Related guides
See how to rotate or flip a photo for step-by-step examples, and how to remove EXIF data from photos to learn what else hides in a photo’s metadata. For documents, the PDF rotate tool turns whole pages instead.
Frequently asked questions
Does rotating reduce quality?
Turning an image by 90 degrees only moves pixels, so no detail is lost in the rotation itself. Saving as JPG or WebP encodes the file once more at 92% quality, which is rarely visible. Choose PNG if you want to avoid any additional compression.
Can I fix a sideways phone photo?
Yes. Click Left or Right until it is upright and download it. The saved file has the rotation built into the pixels, so it will display upright in programs that ignore the orientation tag as well.
What is the difference between rotating 180 degrees and flipping vertically?
A 180 degree rotation turns the picture upside down while keeping it a true, readable image. A vertical flip turns it upside down and also mirrors it, so text reads backwards. Rotating 180 degrees equals flipping both horizontally and vertically.
Why did all of my images rotate at once?
The controls apply one transformation to every image currently in the list, including those added later. To rotate only some images, use Clear all and load them separately, or run the batch with the images that need the same change.
Can I rotate by an arbitrary angle, like 5 degrees?
No. Only 90 degree steps and flips are supported. Straightening by a small angle needs cropping to remove blank corners, which is outside what this tool does.
Does flipping change the image size?
No. A flip keeps the same width and height. A 90 degree rotation swaps them, so a 4000 by 3000 image becomes 3000 by 4000.
Are my images uploaded?
No. Everything runs on your device and nothing is sent anywhere.
Is it free?
Yes. It is completely free, with no watermarks and no sign-up.