iPhone user rotating a photo.
Khamosh Pathak

If some of your iPhone or iPad photos are in the wrong orientation, don't worry: The Photos app includes a built-in feature that lets you rotate a photo by 90 degrees at a time. Here's how to use it.

First, open the Photos app on your iPhone or iPad and navigate to the photo that you want to rotate.

Before you do anything else, it's important to understand that Photos will save the rotation changes to your original image. If you'd like to keep an original (unrotated) copy of the image, we recommend that you create a duplicate image for editing purposes first. To do so, tap the Share button (which looks like a rounded square with an arrow pointing upward out of it) and choose the "Duplicate" option.

Once you're ready to rotate, tap the "Edit" button in the top toolbar to enter photo-editing mode.

Tap "Edit" button in the top toolbar.

On the image-editing screen, tap the Crop button in the bottom toolbar (It looks like two right angles with dotted arrows around it.).

Tap the Crop button (box with dotted arrows) in the editing mode.

At the top of the screen, tap the Rotate icon (It's a rounded square with a curved arrow pointing left above its upper-right corner.).

Tap the Rotate button (box with left arrow) in the top toolbar.

This will instantly rotate the image by 90 degrees in the left (counterclockwise) direction.

Every time you tap the rotate button, you'll rotate it by 90 degrees again. With four taps, for example, you'll have the image back in the original position. Once you're happy with the rotated image, tap the "Done" button in the bottom toolbar.

Tap "Done" to save the rotated image.

The image thumbnail will be updated in the Photos library.

Original picture compared to the rotated picture.
The original picture vs. the rotated picture.

You can now freely share the rotated image as you normally would, and the recipient will see it in the proper orientation.

How to Undo the Rotation

Photo editing in the Photos app on iPhone and iPad is non-destructive. This means that you can go back at any time to revert the changes that you've made.

If you want to undo the rotation, browse to the picture in the Photos app and tap the "Edit" button.

Tap "Edit" button in the top toolbar.

On the photo-edit screen, tap the "Revert" button in the bottom-right corner.

Tap "Revert" in photo editor.

In the pop-up, choose "Revert to Original."

Choose "Revert to Original" option to revert the photo to its original state.

The image will be instantly restored to its original stage and will be exactly like it was before the rotation.

Now that you've used the editor in the Photos app, we suggest that you spend a bit more time with it. You can apply quick filters, fix crooked images, edit minute details, or enhance photos quite easily. Have fun!

RELATED: How to Edit Photos on Your iPhone (Using the Photos App)

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