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Key Takeaways

  • The iOS 18 Photos app will loop any videos you play automatically, eliminating the need for older workarounds.
  • Live Photos can also be looped in a customized manner by tapping “Live” and choosing “Loop” or “Bounce.”
  • Even the native YouTube app can loop videos under playback settings.

Using just the built-in features in the iPhone’s Photos app, you can make your videos play in a loop for as long as you want. You can also do the same for YouTube videos using the native app. This eliminates the need to manually re-play your videos, and we’ll show you how to do that.

Loop a Video in the Photos App

With the iOS 18 update, the Photos app has seen a brand-new redesign, with new ways to organize your library through collections and sorting options.

Beyond the new look, the Photos app now provides an easy way to see your recorded videos in an infinite loop. Any video you have in your library can be played in an automatic loop, which eliminates the old workaround where you’d need to create a slideshow.

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To watch any video in a loop, make sure your iPhone is compatible with and updated to iOS 18. Open your Photos app and tap on any video you want to watch in a loop. You will notice that the video replays automatically without any action from your side until you pause the video or click out of it.

An infinitely looping video of a cat infinitely cleaning itself.
Tim Brookes / How-To Geek

That’s all there is to it!

There is also a way for you to loop your Live Photos, and even customize the way the loop looks. To do this, tap on a Live Photo from your Photos library.

Tap the “Live” drop-down button in the upper left corner.

Looping a Live Photo on the Photos app.
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From the options displayed, tap on “Loop.” Your Live Photo will now play in an infinite loop.

Looping a Live Photo on the Photos app.

You can disable the loop by tap “Live” or “Live Off.”

Disabling a Live Photo loop on the Photos app.

To find Live Photos, go to your Photos library, tap on the search icon in the upper right corner and then type (and tap on) “Live Photos.”

You can also use the “Bounce” option to view the Live Photo in a variation of a loop. This effect will make your Live Photo play in a “back and forth” loop (essentially, the loop that you see in a Boomerang on Instagram).

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Make a YouTube Video Play in a Loop on iPhone

YouTube’s app for iPhone offers the option to play all your videos in a loop. To use that feature, first, launch YouTube on your phone. In the app, tap the video you’d like to play.

On the video playback page, in the top-right corner, tap the Settings icon.

In-video settings on a YouTube video.

From the open menu, select “Additional Settings,” then tap “Loop Video.”

Loop video option in a YouTube video.

YouTube will keep playing the same video until you disable the loop. You can turn off the loop feature by tapping the settings icon and choosing “Loop Video.” Enjoy!


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Apple’s iOS 18 Photos app redesign has divided opinion, but it does make it easier to hide screenshots from your main library view.