Live Camera
Last updated: August 2026
Why the movement disappears
An iPhone does not store a Live Photo as one file. It stores two: the still image, and a separate .MOV video of the moment around it. What links them is an identifier written into the metadata of both, which the Photos app matches up.
The moment the photo leaves that app — a message, an email, an upload — only the still goes. The video stays behind. Your friend receives exactly what was sent: a photo.
Android does have its own version of the idea, called a Motion Photo, but it works the other way round: the video is tucked inside the image file. That is why an iPhone Live Photo cannot simply be dropped onto an Android phone and expected to move. The full comparison is here.
Method 1 — Save it as a video (the reliable one)
This is the method that works everywhere, every time, because video is a format nothing refuses.
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Open the Live Photo
In the Photos app on your iPhone, open the photo full screen.
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Tap the three dots, then Save as Video
Top right corner. A new video file appears in your library, roughly three seconds long.
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Send that video
WhatsApp, Messages, email, anything. It arrives as a video and plays on any Android phone.
The trade-off: your friend gets a video, not a photo. They can watch it, but it will sit in their videos rather than their photos, and it will not have a still to scroll past. For most moments that is a fair swap.
Method 2 — Share a Google Photos or iCloud link
If both of you use Google Photos, upload the Live Photo there and send a shared link rather than a file. The movement survives, because nothing is being re-compressed by a messaging app on the way.
An iCloud shared link works too, and keeps the Live Photo whole — but your friend views it in a browser rather than getting a file for their gallery.
Method 3 — Send both files by hand
Over a cable, AirDrop to a Mac and then across, or a cloud drive, you can copy both the image and its .MOV. Be honest about what this gets you: two unrelated files on the Android phone, a photo and a video that happen to show the same thing. No Android gallery joins them back up into one moving photo. Useful for archiving, not for sharing a moment.
Method 4 — Switching phones entirely
If your friend is moving from iPhone to Android rather than just receiving a photo, Google's own setup transfer has been extended to carry Live Photos across to Pixel devices during the initial migration. That is a one-time path during setup, not something you can use for a single photo later on.
What happens on each route
| How you send it | What lands on the Android phone |
|---|---|
| WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger | Still image only |
| iMessage / SMS to a non-iPhone | Still image only |
| Email attachment | Still image only |
| Saved as video first | A video that plays — recommended |
| Google Photos shared link | Plays inside Google Photos |
| Both files copied manually | A photo and a separate video |
The other direction: Android to iPhone
This one is easier. An Android Motion Photo is a single file with the video inside it, so there is nothing to lose in transit. Recent iPhones and the Google Photos app on iOS recognise the format and play it. Where an app does not, it falls back to showing the still — which is a graceful failure, not a broken file.
Common questions
Can my Android friend take Live Photos too?
Yes, though Android calls the result a Motion Photo. Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones have it built into their camera apps; other phones need an app that adds it.
Will the sound come across?
Only if you send it as a video. A Live Photo's audio lives in the MOV, so any route that drops the video drops the sound with it.
Is there an app that converts them in bulk?
The Photos app can do several at once: select multiple Live Photos, then use the share sheet's Save as Video where offered. Third-party converter apps exist, but for a file already on your phone there is little reason to upload it to someone else's server.