You can remove audio from iPhone videos using the built-in Photos app or iMovie
The fastest way to strip audio from an iPhone video is through the Photos app — it takes about 30 seconds and requires no other software. Open Photos, find your video, tap Edit, then tap the speaker icon to mute it. If you need more control — like keeping part of the audio or adjusting volume before removing it — use iMovie instead, which comes free on every iPhone.
Both methods create a new version of your video without touching the original. Your original file stays exactly as it is, so you can always go back if you change your mind.
Key Takeaways
- The Photos app is the quickest way to remove all audio: open the video, tap Edit, then tap the speaker icon.
- iMovie gives you more control and lets you mute only certain sections of a video instead of the whole thing.
- Both methods save a new version of your video and leave the original untouched.
- If you want to keep the video but share it without audio, you can also mute it only when posting to social media.
Removing audio with the Photos app in three steps
Open the Photos app and find the video you want to mute. Tap it once to open it full-screen, then tap Edit in the top right corner. The video timeline appears at the bottom with a speaker icon on the left side of the timeline.
Tap the speaker icon once. It will change to a speaker with a line through it, which means the audio is now muted. Tap Done in the top right to save your changes. Your iPhone creates a new version of the video without audio and saves it to your Photos library. The original video remains unchanged.
If you change your mind before tapping Done, tap the speaker icon again to turn the audio back on. Once you tap Done, the muted version is permanent, but you still have the original with audio in your library.
Using iMovie for more control over which parts stay muted
iMovie is better if you want to mute only certain sections of your video or adjust the audio level before removing it completely. Open iMovie and tap the plus icon to create a new project, then select Movie. Choose your video from your library and tap Create Movie.
Your video appears in the timeline at the bottom. Tap the video clip once to select it, then look for the audio controls — you'll see a waveform representing the audio track. Tap the waveform to open audio options. You can either mute the entire clip by tapping the mute button, or drag the volume slider all the way down to zero.
If you want to mute only part of the video, tap and drag on the timeline to select just that section, then mute only that portion. When you're done, tap Done, then tap Share to save your edited video back to Photos. iMovie saves it as a new file, leaving your original video untouched.
What happens to the original video after you remove audio
Your original video with audio stays in your Photos library no matter which method you use. When you edit in Photos or iMovie, your iPhone creates a separate copy and saves that copy to your library. You'll now have two versions of the same video — one with audio and one without.
If you want to delete the original version to save storage space, open Photos, find the original video, tap Select, then tap Delete. Confirm the deletion. Be certain you want to remove it, because once you delete it from Recently Deleted (which happens after 30 days), you cannot get it back.
Removing audio only when you share, without editing the file
If you don't want to create a separate file, you can mute the audio only when you post to social media. Open the video in the app where you're sharing it — Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, or others — and look for audio or sound settings before you post. Most apps let you toggle audio off right in the upload screen.
This method keeps your original file unchanged and doesn't create extra copies taking up storage. The video plays without sound only for people who see it on that platform. If someone downloads the video or you share it elsewhere, the audio will be back.
Troubleshooting when the speaker icon doesn't appear
If you open a video in Photos and don't see the speaker icon when you tap Edit, the video may not have audio to begin with. Some videos recorded in certain apps or formats don't have a separate audio track, so there's nothing to mute.
If you're sure the video has audio but the speaker icon still doesn't show, try closing Photos completely and opening it again. On newer iPhones, swipe up from the bottom to close the app, then tap Photos to reopen it. If the icon still doesn't appear, try using iMovie instead — it handles more video formats and may work when Photos doesn't.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I remove audio from a video someone else sent me?
Yes. Once a video is in your Photos library, you can edit it the same way you would edit your own video. The original file the other person has is not affected — you're only changing your copy.
Does removing audio reduce the video file size?
Slightly, but not by much. Audio takes up much less storage than video, so removing it might free up a few megabytes at most. If you're trying to save storage space, deleting videos you don't need works much better than muting them.
What if I muted the wrong video by accident?
If you haven't closed Photos yet, tap Edit again and tap the muted speaker icon to turn the audio back on, then tap Done. If you already saved it, you still have the original video with audio in your library — just delete the muted version and keep the original.
Can I remove audio from a video that's already been shared online?
You can remove audio from your copy of the video, but that doesn't change the version that's already posted. You would need to delete the original post and upload the muted version instead if you want the online version to have no audio.
Does iMovie work better than Photos for removing audio?
Photos is faster for removing all audio at once. iMovie is better if you want to mute only certain parts, adjust volume gradually, or work with videos that Photos won't edit. For most people, Photos is all you need.