How to Turn Off Live Photos on iPhone (and Keep It Off)

How do you turn off Live Photos on iPhone?

To turn off Live Photos on iPhone, open the Camera app, tap the Camera Controls button, then tap the Live Photo button. A slash through the button means Live Photo is off. To keep it off, turn on the Live Photo switch in Settings > Camera > Preserve Settings.

A Live Photo is a photo saved with what happens 1.5 seconds before and after you take it. Turning the feature off changes only the photos you take next. Photos already in your library stay Live until you edit or delete them.

Turn Off Live Photos in the Camera App

Apple's Live Photos support page gives the steps for the Camera app:

1. Open the Camera app.
2. Tap the Camera Controls button.
3. Tap the Live Photo button.
4. Check that a slash runs through the Live Photo button, which means Live Photo is off.

The change applies to the photos you take from then on. It does not last on its own. Apple says the Camera app turns Live Photo on again automatically, so it can come back without you touching it. One switch in Settings stops that reset.

Keep Live Photos Off Permanently

Why does Live Photo keep turning back on?

Live Photo keeps turning back on because the Camera app switches it on again automatically. Turning on the Live Photo switch in Preserve Settings makes the Camera keep your last choice. With that switch off, the Camera goes back to Live Photo on.

To make the setting stick:

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Camera, then tap Preserve Settings.
3. Turn on the switch next to Live Photo.
4. Open the Camera app and turn Live Photo off, if it is not off already.

That memory works both ways. Turn Live Photo on for a single shot and it stays on for every photo after it, until you turn it off again. Check for the slash before you put the phone away.

If Live Photo still comes back, open Preserve Settings and check the switch is still on. Then turn Live Photo off in the Camera once more.

Turn Off Live on Photos You Already Took

The Camera setting changes new photos only. A Live Photo already in your library can become a still in three ways, and each one does something different.

To turn Live off on one photo, follow Apple's edit steps:

1. Open the Live Photo in Photos and tap Edit.
2. Tap LIVE at the top of the screen so it turns off.
3. Tap Done.

The photo now shows as a still. Apple lets you tap LIVE again later to turn it back on, so the moving part is kept with the photo rather than deleted.

A still copy leaves the original as it is. Open the photo, tap the More button, tap Duplicate, then choose Duplicate as Still Photo. This adds a new still to the library. The Live original stays until you delete it.

Sharing a still changes nothing in the library. Open the photo, tap Share, then tap LIVE in the upper-left corner before you choose how to share it. Apple notes that a Live Photo sent by Mail arrives as a still image.

What Each Option Changes

Each option touches a different part of the library, and only deleting removes a Live Photo already taken.

Turning Live Photos off stops new photos adding a moving part. It does not shrink the library you already have.

Should You Turn Off Live Photos?

Turning Live Photos off suits you if you rarely play them back, photograph documents, receipts or notes, or see storage warnings often. A photo of a receipt rarely needs the 1.5 seconds around it.

Keep Live Photos on if you use the moving moments or the effects Apple builds from them: Loop, Bounce and Long Exposure. Apple warns that editing a Live Photo in a third-party app can remove effects you applied.

Each Live Photo stores more than the still you see, so whether Live Photos take up more space is its own question. Other Camera settings change file size too, and reducing photo file size on iPhone covers them.

Clear the Live Photos You Already Have

Live Photos taken before the change stay in the library. Apple groups them in one album, so they can be reviewed in one place:

1. In Photos, tap Collections, scroll to Media Types and tap Live Photos.
2. Tap Select, tap the photos you no longer want, then tap the Trash button.
3. In Collections, open Recently Deleted under Utilities, tap View Album and confirm with Face ID or Touch ID, then delete them there for good.

Apple's photo deletion steps say deleted photos stay in Recently Deleted for 30 days before they go for good. Emptying Recently Deleted removes them for good without the 30-day wait. With iCloud Photos on, a deleted photo goes from every device on the same Apple Account.

Live Photos are one part of a full library, and the steps to free up space on iPhone cover the rest. Photo cleaner apps show one photo at a time and delete only what you confirm. Apps such as Swipe Quick do this on the device, month by month or by album: swipe left to delete, swipe right to keep.

Frequently asked questions

Does turning off Live Photos delete my existing Live Photos?

Turning off Live Photos does not delete your existing Live Photos. The setting changes only the photos you take afterwards. Live Photos already in the library stay as they are until you edit or delete them.

Does turning off Live Photos save storage?

Turning off Live Photos saves storage on new photos only, because they are taken without the moving part. It does not shrink photos you already have. To cut what you already have, delete Live Photos you do not need, then empty Recently Deleted.