Online Mirror

How to use the online mirror

1. Press Turn on mirror. Your browser asks for permission to use the camera: choose Allow. Only the camera is requested, never the microphone.
2. You now see yourself mirrored, the way a real mirror shows you. Press Mirrored on the picture, or pick True view in the panel, to see yourself the way other people and the camera see you.
3. Use Zoom to get closer, for example for eye makeup or a contact lens, and Brightness to brighten a dim picture.
4. Turn on the ring light to make the border of the screen bright, then press Full screen (or F) so the light is as large as possible.
5. Freeze holds the current picture so you can look closely. Photo saves what you see as a PNG file on your device.
6. Press Stop when you are done. The camera turns off, and so does the camera light on devices that have one.

Several cameras, such as the front and back camera of a phone? A Camera menu appears in the panel once the mirror is on.

Private: the picture stays on your device

• Nothing is uploaded or recorded. The camera picture goes straight to your screen. The page has no upload function and does not record video.
• Photos are made on your device. When you press Photo, your browser draws the current picture into an image and saves it as a file in your downloads. It is not sent anywhere.
• No microphone. The mirror asks for video only.
• Off when you leave. The camera stops when you press Stop, switch to another tab or close the page.
• Analytics never see the camera. If you accept analytics cookies, only the page address is counted. See the privacy policy.

Mirrored or true view: why photos look different

A mirror flips you left to right. That is the face you see every day, so it is the one that looks familiar. Other people, and most photos, show you the other way round. Faces are rarely perfectly symmetrical, so the flipped version can look slightly odd to you even though nothing about it is wrong.

Phone and laptop cameras usually show a mirrored preview while you take a selfie, and many of them then save the photo unmirrored. Switch between Mirrored and True view here to compare both before a video call or a photo. Text on clothing or a sign behind you reads normally only in the true view.

Tips for a clearer mirror

• Face the light. Sit facing a window or a lamp, not with it behind you. Light from behind turns your face into a dark shape.
• Use the ring light in a dim room. Turn your screen brightness all the way up, turn on the ring light, make it wider and go full screen. The bright border lights your face from the front, much like the screen ring light does. Pick Warm if your room lights are warm, so the colors match.
• Brightness here is for the picture. The Brightness slider makes the image brighter on screen, which helps you see, but it does not add light to your face. The ring light does.
• Put the camera at eye level. A camera below your face looks up at your chin. Prop up a laptop or phone so the camera is level with your eyes.
• Wipe the lens. A blurry, hazy picture is very often a fingerprint on the camera lens.
• Get closer with zoom, not by leaning in. Zoom keeps your face centered and lets you stay at a comfortable distance. Zoomed photos have fewer pixels, so for the sharpest photo use zoom 1.0x.