How to remove audio from a video
Muting playback is not the same as removing audio. If you mute a clip and upload it, the sound is still in the file and it will play for everyone else. To silence it properly, the audio track has to come out.
In the browser
Our remove audio tool exports a genuinely silent file, without uploading anything, and it works on a phone:
- Choose the video. On an iPhone, pick it from Photos.
- Press Remove audio.
- Save the silent copy. On a phone, Save video puts it back into Photos.
The video stream is copied untouched, so this costs nothing in quality and takes about a second. If you also want to trim or crop the clip, tick remove audio next to the transport controls in the full editor instead and export from there.
On iPhone
The Photos app can lower or mute the audio on a video while editing, but the safest route if you want the track actually gone is iMovie:
- Open iMovie, start a new Movie project and add the clip.
- Select the clip in the timeline, tap the volume control, and drag it to zero.
- Share the project back to Photos.
On Mac
QuickTime Player can do it without any extra software. Open the clip, then Edit, then Remove Audio, then save.
Why remove the audio at all
- Background noise. Wind, a fan, traffic, a conversation you do not want in shot.
- Music you do not have rights to. Silent uploads do not get copyright claims.
- You are adding a soundtrack later and the original track is in the way.
- File size, though this is minor. Audio is usually a few percent of the total.
Questions
Will removing the audio reduce video quality?
No. The picture is copied across untouched. Only the audio track is dropped.
Can I remove just part of the audio?
Not in one pass. Split the clip, export the section you want silent with remove audio ticked, and rejoin them in a full editor.
Does muting in the Photos app remove the sound?
It lowers it to silent in the saved file, which is usually enough. If you need certainty that no audio track exists at all, export with the audio stripped.