Best Mirror Apps for iPhone [2027 Compared]
The best free mirror on an iPhone is the front camera: the Camera app for a quick look, or Apple’s Magnifier with the Cameras control added for more zoom and a capture button, with no ads. For a magnifying makeup mirror with light, use an app that lights your face with the screen: LoupeLens or Mirror ◎, or Mirror Deluxe if you want to freeze and flip the image. We make LoupeLens, so read our view of it with that in mind.
The best free option: your iPhone’s front camera
You do not need to download a mirror app. Two free, ad-free mirrors are already on your iPhone:
- The Camera app. Open Camera and tap the switch button to turn to the front camera. It opens fast and the preview is flipped like a real mirror. Zoom on the front camera is limited, and the only light is the screen flash at the moment you take a photo.
- Apple’s Magnifier app. Magnifier can use the front camera too. If you only see the rear camera, open Magnifier, tap the settings button and add the Cameras control, which switches between the front and rear cameras. You then get Magnifier’s zoom, image brightness and contrast controls, and a capture button that holds the image still so you can look at it properly.
For makeup or eyebrows, prop the phone at eye level about 25 cm away and face a window or the bathroom light, never with the light behind you. About 2x is enough for makeup and 3x to 5x for eyebrows; magnifying mirror on iPhone has a zoom table for each task.
What neither can do is light your face. The front camera has no flashlight, so in a dim bathroom, a hotel room or a car the picture turns grainy and colors are hard to judge. Mirror apps solve this by turning part of the screen into a light, usually a white frame or ring around the image.
Quick comparison
Details below come from each app’s App Store listing in November 2026. Apps change, so check the listing before you install. We make LoupeLens, so read our view of it with that in mind.
| App | Cost model | Light | Zoom and freeze | Ads | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Camera app, front camera | Free, built in | Screen flash only when you take a photo | Limited zoom, no freeze | None | A quick look |
| Apple Magnifier, front camera | Free, from Apple | None, image brightness control only | More zoom than Camera, capture to hold the image | None | Free close-up with no ads |
| LoupeLens | Free download, annual subscription | Screen light around the image | Zoom, tap to capture a photo, hold to record video | None | Close-ups in a dim room, photos to compare |
| Mirror ◎ (AppForge) | Free with ads, in-app purchase to turn them off | Ring light with brightness and warmth | Pinch to zoom up to 10x (as listed) | Yes, unless you pay | A ring light you can warm up |
| Mirror ツ (Winkpass Creations) | Free with ads | Built-in light | Zoom, automatic zoom on your smile | Yes | Teeth and quick checks |
| Mirror Deluxe (Uniqo Lab) | Free with ads, in-app purchase to remove them | Night mode | Pinch to zoom, freeze, flip, save | Yes, unless you pay | Freezing and flipping the image |
How we compared them
A phone mirror is used close up, often in poor light, with one hand busy holding a brush or tweezers. We looked at:
- Light on your face. A screen light or ring light you can turn up matters more than anything else in a dim room.
- Zoom you can set quickly. 2x to 5x covers makeup, brows and stray hairs. Higher numbers rarely help on a face.
- Freeze or capture. Holding the image lets you check your profile or the back of your jaw, which you cannot see live.
- Nothing over the image. A banner ad across your eye defeats the purpose.
- Privacy. A mirror app shows your face, so we read each listing’s App Privacy section.
The apps
The App Store has many mirror apps, and the long-running free ones are ad-supported. The three third-party apps below have been on the App Store since 2010 and were all updated in October or November 2026. All three list advertising, and their App Privacy sections say some data may be used to track you.
Camera app: the fastest mirror
Swipe left on the Lock Screen to open Camera and tap the switch button. Nothing to install, no ads, and the preview is mirrored so moving your hand left moves it left on screen. Zoom on the front camera is limited, there is no light while you look, and to hold the image you have to take a photo.
Choose it if you want a quick check of your teeth or hair and have decent light.
Apple Magnifier: free zoom on the front camera
With the Cameras control added, Magnifier works as a magnifying mirror with no ads. The listing says the data it collects is not linked to you. You get more zoom than in the Camera app, brightness and contrast for the image, and capture to freeze what you see. It has no screen light, so it needs a bright room or a window. If Magnifier is not on your iPhone, see Magnifier missing on iPhone.
Choose it if you want a free magnifying mirror and have good light.
LoupeLens: a lit magnifying mirror
In LoupeLens, switch to the front camera and turn on the light: the screen around the live image turns white and lights your face while you zoom in. Tap to capture a photo or hold to record video; everything goes into a LoupeLens album in Photos, which helps when you want to compare skin over weeks (see skincare under the lens). No ads, no tracking, no account, and it works offline. It needs an annual subscription, which Family Sharing covers. It has no mirror frames, color filters or beauty effects.
Choose it if you use a mirror in dim light, or you want the same app for close-ups with the rear camera and flashlight.
Mirror ◎ (AppForge)
Listed as a makeup camera with light and zoom. The latest version added a ring light with brightness and warmth controls, a true mirror setting, and pinch to zoom up to 10x; the description also lists a night mode and sharing. The listing says it contains advertising, with an in-app purchase to disable ads, and the App Privacy section says identifiers may be used to track you.
Choose it if you want a ring light whose color you can warm up to match the light you will be seen in.
Mirror ツ (Winkpass Creations)
A simple mirror that opens straight to the front camera, with zoom, a light you switch on for soft illumination, and smile detection that zooms in automatically when you smile, for checking teeth. The listing says it contains advertising and lists no in-app purchases. Its App Privacy section says identifiers and usage data may be used to track you.
Choose it if you mostly check teeth, lashes or hair and want as few controls as possible.
Mirror Deluxe (Uniqo Lab)
Mirror Deluxe concentrates on the image: freeze it, pinch to zoom, flip it to see yourself as others see you, and save the photo. It has a night mode for dark rooms and separate brightness, contrast and sharpness controls. The listing says it contains advertising, with an in-app purchase to remove ads. Its App Privacy section lists more data types used to track you than the others here, including location, identifiers and usage data.
Choose it if you want to freeze and flip the image, for example to check the side of your face.
Which one should you pick?
| If you need | Try |
|---|---|
| A quick mirror, free | The Camera app, front camera |
| A magnifying mirror, free, no ads | Apple Magnifier with the Cameras control added |
| A makeup mirror with light, in a dim room | LoupeLens or Mirror ◎ |
| Warm or cool light to match where you are going | Mirror ◎ |
| Freeze and flip to check your profile | Mirror Deluxe, or capture in Apple Magnifier |
| Photos of your skin to compare over time | LoupeLens. See skincare under the lens |
| No ads and no tracking | The Camera app, Apple Magnifier or LoupeLens |
| A magnifier for things other than your face | See the best magnifying glass apps for iPhone |
Why do I look different in a mirror app than in photos?
Two things change your face on a phone screen. The first is flipping. A mirror app, like the live front camera preview, shows you flipped left to right, the way you see yourself in a bathroom mirror. The photo the Camera app saves is not flipped, so it shows you as other people see you. Faces are not perfectly symmetrical, so the unflipped version can look slightly wrong to you even though it is accurate. To make the Camera app save photos the way the preview looks, turn on Mirror Front Camera in Settings, Camera. Mirror Deluxe’s flip button and Mirror ◎’s true mirror setting let you switch between the two views.
The second is distance. The front camera has a wide lens, and at 20 to 25 cm it makes whatever is closest to it, usually the nose, look larger than it is. Hold the phone at arm’s length and zoom in instead of bringing it close, and your face looks more like it does to someone standing in front of you. For makeup this matters: blending judged at arm’s length in daylight is closer to how others will see it than a close-up under a ring light.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free mirror app for iPhone?
The front camera you already have. Use the Camera app for a quick look, or Apple’s Magnifier app with the Cameras control added for more zoom and a capture button, with no ads. Neither has a light, so in a dim room use a mirror app with a screen light.
Does the iPhone have a mirror app?
Not one called Mirror, but the front camera works as one. Open the Camera app and switch to the front camera, or open Magnifier, tap the settings button and add the Cameras control to switch Magnifier to the front camera.
What is the best magnifying mirror app for iPhone?
For free with no ads, Apple Magnifier on the front camera. For a magnifying mirror with light, LoupeLens lights your face with the screen while you zoom, and Mirror ◎ has a ring light with brightness and warmth controls and lists zoom up to 10x.
Is there a makeup mirror app with light for iPhone?
Yes. LoupeLens turns the screen around the image white when you use the front camera, Mirror ◎ has an adjustable ring light, and Mirror ツ has a light you switch on. Turn the screen brightness up and face the light source for the best result.
Why is my iPhone mirror image flipped?
The front camera preview is flipped left to right on purpose, so it behaves like a real mirror. Saved photos are not flipped unless you turn on Mirror Front Camera in Settings, Camera.
Do mirror apps track you?
Check the App Privacy section of each listing. The App Privacy sections of Mirror ◎, Mirror ツ and Mirror Deluxe all say some data may be used to track you. The Camera app, Apple Magnifier and LoupeLens show no ads, and LoupeLens has no tracking.