Online mirror

No compact mirror nearby? Your webcam does the job: check your hair before a meeting, put on makeup, look at something in your eye, or check your teeth after lunch. The image is mirrored by default, exactly like a real mirror, so moving your hand to the left moves the image to the left.

The mirror works on laptops, desktops with a webcam, tablets and phones. On phones it uses the front (selfie) camera by default; if you have several cameras, choose another from the Camera list.

• Brightness (60–220%) lifts dark images in dim rooms. It is a digital adjustment, so very high values look washed out.
• Zoom (1–3×) magnifies the center of the image for close-up work. It is digital zoom, so the picture gets grainier as you zoom in.
• Ring light adds a thick white frame around the image. In a dark room, that white border lights your face like a small ring light. It works best in full screen with your display brightness turned all the way up.

For even more light, open the white screen on a second device and point it at your face.

A mirror reverses left and right, so the face you know from the mirror is flipped compared with how other people and cameras see you. That is why many people find photos of themselves slightly odd: faces are not perfectly symmetrical.

Click How others see you (unmirrored) to flip the image back. It is useful before video calls, for checking that text on a shirt reads correctly, or when practicing a presentation. Click again to return to the mirror view.

• Light from the front. A window or lamp behind you turns your face into a silhouette. Face the light source instead.
• Camera at eye level. A laptop camera below your chin gives an unflattering angle. Raise the laptop on a few books.
• Clean the lens. A fingerprint on the camera makes everything look hazy. Wipe it with a soft cloth.
• Use full screen on a big display. On a monitor or TV the mirror is large enough for checking an outfit or hairstyle.
• Close other video apps. Most cameras can only be used by one program at a time.

On phones, the front camera usually has a fixed focus, so hold the phone at arm's length for the sharpest image.

Save photo captures the current frame as a JPG with your brightness setting applied and in the orientation you are viewing (mirrored or not). The photo is created in your browser and downloaded directly to your device as mirror.jpg; it is never uploaded.

The mirror's live image is not recorded either. When you click Turn off or close the tab, the camera stops and its indicator light switches off.

• Black image: another app may be using the camera. Close Zoom, Teams or FaceTime and try again.
• Permission denied: click the camera or lock icon next to the address bar, allow the camera and reload.
• Grainy picture: add light in front of you and lower the zoom.
• Wrong camera on a laptop with an external webcam: pick the right device from the Camera list.

To check resolution and frame rate in detail, use the webcam test.