How to Crop a Video on Android — Beginner’s Guide 101

Thanks to the invention of the mobile phones, it’s easier to capture pictures and videos on the go.

Gone are the days when you’ll have to bring a bulky camera just to record stunning footage and photos.

But, while capturing videos on a small screen is nifty enough, sometimes you’ll have trouble with the aspect ratio not being ideal.

So, in case you don’t have access to a PC or Mac at the moment, rest assured that you can always crop out some parts of the video from your Android device.

But how do you go about cropping a video on Android?

 

How to Crop a Video on Android

One way to crop a video on Android is to select one from the gallery and select “Crop.” In case “Crop” isn’t available, you can tap “Edit” > “Aspect Ratio” instead. Another way is to use the crop feature on Google Photos. Lastly, you can download a third-party app that allows you to crop videos.

 

Cropping Videos on Android — 3 Clever Ways

As stated earlier, there are 3 ways in which one can crop videos on an Android device.

While all three have their pros and cons, it is up to you what method you will use — which method works the best.

So, if you’re confused about how to go about cropping videos on Android, start reading the first method below.

 

Method 1: Cropping Videos on Android Directly Using the “Crop” Tool in the Gallery App

Step 1: On your Android device, locate the “Gallery” app and tap it. 

You can try to locate it on your home screen, or you can activate the app drawer by swiping up the home screen.

Step 2: Once you’re in the “Gallery” app of the Android device you’re using, select a video by pressing on it once.

This move will then zoom in on the footage you selected.

Step 3: After selecting the video, tap on it once before you head to the toolbar below it and tap the “Crop” tool.

In case the Android device you’re using uses a different configuration, find the “Editor” tool instead.

After which, swipe to the left until you see the “Aspect Ratio” option.

Step 4: After tapping “Aspect Ratio,” swipe to the left until you see the aspect ratio you want to use. Tap on the aspect ratio to choose it.

Just remember that the default setting for the video’s aspect ratio is tagged as “Original.”

Step 5: After selecting the aspect ratio, head to the upper right of the screen and press “Save.”

A copy of the footage in its new aspect ratio will then be saved in your gallery.

While the first method of cropping a video on Android is nifty enough, sometimes the editing options can be quite limiting.

In case you want more video editing options other than “Crop,” the second method below might do the trick.

 

Method 2: Cropping a Video on Android Using Google Photos’ “Crop” Feature

Note: Make sure that you have downloaded the latest version of Google Photos before proceeding with this method.

Step 1: On your Android device’s home screen, locate the Google Photos app icon and tap it. This move will launch the app.

Step 2: Once you’re in your Google Photos account, browse through the gallery until you find a video you’d like to edit. Tap on it once to select it.

Step 3: Selecting the video will automatically play it. Press on the footage once to activate the toolbar below it.

On the toolbar that appears, press the “Edit” button.

Step 4: Under the “Edit” menu, tap on the “Crop” option.

You’ll immediately see a cropping box surrounding the video. 

Step 5: After activating “Crop, tap the “Aspect Ratio” button to select what aspect ratio you want to use.

Google Photos’ “Crop” feature offers 5 options for you to choose from: Free, Square, Original, 16:9, 5:4, 3:2, and 4:3 ratios.

If you want a quick crop of the video, select from the pre-set aspect ratios available.

But, if you prefer manually adjusting the cropping sliders, select “Free” instead.

Step 6: If, after cropping you want to further edit the video, you can press “Rotate” or “Pinch and Zoom” to make it look better.

Step 7: Once you’re done cropping and improving your video, head to the lower right of the editor page and select “Save Copy.”

And, just like that, you’ve saved a cropped version of the original footage on your Android device.

But, then again, if you find Google Photos’ cropping feature lacking still, then the third method is the one that suits your video editing needs.

 

Method 3: Cropping a Video on Android Using a Third-Party App

Note: Just like in cropping a video through Google Photos, make sure you’ve installed the video editing app or updated it first.

Step 1: Tap the application you want to use to crop your video from your Android device’s home screen.

There are various photo and video cropping apps available on Google Play, but the one I’d like to use is Picsart.

Step 2: After launching the video editor app, upload the video you want to crop by selecting the “+” button.

Then, tap on the video to upload it to the video editor.

Step 3: Once the video’s uploaded, it will open up the “Editor” page.

Tap on the “Pause” button to make the video stop playing automatically.

Then, head to the toolbar found below the video frames area and press “Crop.”

Step 4: On the toolbar that appears, choose what aspect ratio you’d want to use by tapping it.

You’ll then see the cropping box appear on top of the video to show you what that particular aspect ratio looks like.

Step 5: Once you’ve selected the aspect ratio, press the checkmark icon on the upper right of the screen to save the changes you’ve made.

You’ll then exit the “Crop” page. If you have other editing to do on the video, proceed with tapping the other editing options on the toolbar.

If you’re done, press “Save.” 

And, with a few taps, you already cropped a video on Android. 

So, which among the three options discussed are you willing to try after clearing your Android device’s clipboard?

 

Frequently Asked Questions about How to Crop a Video on Android

 

Can you use other third-party apps for cropping a video on Android other than PicsArt?

You can use other third-party video editing apps to crop out a video on your Android device. Just make sure to install it on your device from Google Play Store or update it so you’ll have access to the latest tool upgrades in the app.

 

What if I made a mistake in choosing an aspect ratio for my video. Can I still undo the changes made?

If you’re in the middle of your video editing, you can still change the aspect ratio used by tapping another ratio from the choices available. You can also press “Reset.” But, if you already saved the video, you’ll have to re-crop the video to change its aspect ratio.

 

How do I find video editing apps on Google Play Store?

To search for video editing apps, launch “Google Play Store” by tapping on its icon on your device’s home screen. Then, in the search bar, type “video editing” or “crop video” for Play Store to list out the video editing apps available.