A picture can have the right subject and still include too much around the edges. Your iPhone’s built-in Photos app lets you trim that space, choose a preset ratio, or crop freely. You can also undo a saved crop when Photos still retains the original.
Crop your picture in Photos
Open Photos and select the picture you want to crop.
Tap Edit, then Crop to open the cropping controls. Depending on the interface, these buttons appear as icons instead of written labels.
Drag the corners to adjust the area you want to keep, or pinch the picture to change the framing. What’s inside the crop is what you’ll keep.
Tap Done to save the result.
Choose a square or another preset ratio
Use a preset when you want a square, a tall rectangle, or another offered proportion.
- 1.Open your picture in Photos and tap Edit.
- 2.Tap Crop.
- 3.Tap the Aspect Ratio Freeform button.
- 4.Choose Square, Wallpaper, 9:16, 5:7, or another offered ratio.
- 5.Adjust the framing to keep the part you want.
- 6.Tap Done.
Unlock the ratio to crop freely
A locked aspect ratio keeps the crop’s proportions fixed as you resize it.
Open your picture in Photos.
Go to Edit > Crop.
Tap the lock at the top-right of the picture to unlock the aspect ratio.
Drag the corners to crop freely, without keeping a preset shape.
Tap Done to save your new framing.
Zoom in for a quick crop
The zoom-to-crop shortcut fits those moments when you want one part of a picture to fill the frame. Start with the picture open in Photos.
Pinch outward until the composition you want fills the view.
Tap Crop in the top-right corner.
Refine the crop by adjusting the edges.
Tap Done to save it.
Undo a crop you already saved
You can restore the original when Photos still retains it. This restores the original picture instead of adding another crop.
Open the edited picture in Photos.
Tap Edit.
Choose Revert to restore the original.
If the restored picture still doesn’t have the framing you want, return to Edit > Crop. Adjust the crop, then tap Done.
Use Preview for an image file
For image files available to Preview, you have another built-in cropping option. Preview arrived on iPhone with iOS 26.
Open Preview.
Find your image through Recents, Shared, or Browse.
Open the image.
Tap Crop.
Move the blue selection handles to mark the area you want to keep.
Tap Crop to apply the selection.
If that command is hidden, tap inside the selection to reveal it, then tap Crop.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need Apple Intelligence to crop a picture?
No. Manual cropping, preset aspect ratios, and the zoom-to-crop shortcut in Photos do not require Apple Intelligence.
Can I crop a picture into a circle on iPhone?
Yes. Adobe Express mobile supports circular and other shaped crops. Open a design containing your picture. Select the image, then tap Crop. Choose a shape under Shapes. Tap the checkmark, then the download icon.
Can I crop a screenshot instead of the original picture?
Yes. Display the picture. On a Face ID iPhone, briefly press the Side and Volume Up buttons together. On supported Home-button models, press Side and Home together. Drag the crop handles in the screenshot preview. In the iOS 27 interface, swipe up to save to Photos, or tap the checkmark-shaped save control and choose a destination. This produces a cropped screen capture.
Can I use Siri to start a screenshot crop?
Yes. Display the picture, activate Siri, and ask it to take a screenshot. Adjust the crop handles in the resulting screenshot editor, then use the save control. This crops the capture rather than the original photo.