--- title: "How to Make a Birthday Video on Your Phone | birthday.video" description: "How to make a birthday video on your phone: iPhone Photos memories and iMovie, Google Photos and Samsung Gallery, or a birthday template in your browser." url: https://birthday.video/how-to-make-a-birthday-video --- Free · made on your device # How to make a birthday video on your phone The apps already on your iPhone or Android phone can turn photos into a video with music. Here is how each one works, and when a birthday template does it better. Free · no sign-up · no watermark Happy birthday Noah 8 Love you lots Mum and Dad To make a birthday video on a phone, gather ten to twenty photos or short clips, then put them together with music: on iPhone with a memory movie in Photos or iMovie’s Magic Movie, on Android with a highlight video in Google Photos or the movie maker in Samsung’s Gallery. Each makes a montage in a few minutes. What none of them makes is a birthday card with their name and age on screen. For that, birthday.video works in Safari or Chrome with nothing to install: pick a template from **Templates**, type the **Name** and **Age**, add photos from your camera roll and press **Export video**. Online on a computer instead? The [birthday video maker](https://birthday.video/) is the same tool on a bigger screen. This guide follows Apple’s, Google’s and Samsung’s own help pages. Menus move between versions, so look for the same words nearby if yours differ. Start from one of these ## Make a birthday video in your browser These steps are the same on iPhone and Android; the phones’ own apps are covered below. 1. ### Choose a template Press **Start a birthday video** above and pick a card from **Templates**: a classic card, a photo template or a milestone number. [ ![The birthday.video template gallery on a phone: the heading Choose a birthday template, category buttons with Classic cards selected, the Story 9:16 format chosen, and animated cards named Confetti party and Wishes, line by line](https://birthday.video/guides/editor/choose-template.webp) (enlarge image) ](https://birthday.video/guides/editor/choose-template.webp) Pick a card from the gallery; the category and the shape are already set by the page you came from. 2. ### Type the words Type the **Name**, **Age** and **Message**. The card updates as you type. [ ![The Whose birthday is it? sheet for the Confetti party template, with Name filled in as Maya, Age 30 and the Message Have the best day, an Add photos and clips button and the Make the birthday video button](https://birthday.video/guides/editor/whose-birthday.webp) (enlarge image) ](https://birthday.video/guides/editor/whose-birthday.webp) Type the **Name**, **Age** and **Message**, then **Add photos and clips** if you have them. 3. ### Add photos and a tune Press **Add photos and clips** to choose from your camera roll, then **Add music** for a Happy Birthday tune or a song file on your phone. [ ![The Music panel listing No music and Happy Birthday arrangements: music box, piano, ukulele, party (selected) and lullaby](https://birthday.video/guides/editor/music-panel.webp) (enlarge image) ](https://birthday.video/guides/editor/music-panel.webp) The **Music** panel: our own Happy Birthday arrangements, or **Add music** for a song on your device. 4. ### Export and share Press **Export video**, then **Share** to send it to WhatsApp, Messages or Instagram, or to save it to your photos. [ ![The Export video sheet with Video (MP4) selected, Full HD or Smaller file, the note 11 seconds with sound, made on this device and nothing uploaded, and the Export video button](https://birthday.video/guides/editor/export-video.webp) (enlarge image) ](https://birthday.video/guides/editor/export-video.webp) **Export video** opens this sheet: **Video (MP4)** for a video with sound. ## On iPhone: Photos memory movies and iMovie ### A memory movie in Photos * Open **Photos**, go to **Collections**, then **Memories**. * With Apple Intelligence on a supported iPhone, tap **Create** and describe it (“Sam growing up”); otherwise choose a suggested memory. * Play it and change the music (built-in soundtracks, or Apple Music if you subscribe) and the **Memory Look**. * Use **More**, then **Manage Photos**, to add or remove pictures, and edit the title to say happy birthday. ### A Magic Movie in iMovie iMovie, Apple’s free editor, has a **Magic Movie** project: choose the photos and clips, and iMovie builds a movie with a soundtrack and transitions that you can restyle and share as a video file. Its titles are general-purpose, so a big “Happy 50th” means typing and placing the text yourself. Songs from Apple Music can be used in a memory movie but not added to videos made in other apps, including birthday.video, which uses song files saved on your phone. ## On Android: Google Photos and Samsung Gallery ### A highlight video in Google Photos * Open **Google Photos** and tap **Create**. * Choose **Highlight video**, and a template if one is offered (templates are still rolling out). * Select the photos and clips; searching for their face is the quickest way. * Reorder, trim, pick music from the Photos library and, on Android, add text, then save and share. ### A movie in Samsung Gallery On most Galaxy phones, select the photos and videos in **Gallery**, open **Create** and choose **Movie**. Samsung moved this on some phones with One UI 6, so on newer models it may sit in the Gallery’s video editor instead. ## Which to use * **Photos memory or Google Photos highlight**: fastest, if you are happy for the phone to choose the pace. * **iMovie or Samsung Gallery**: more control over every photo and clip, a few more taps. * **birthday.video**: a card with their name and age that suits the occasion, Happy Birthday tunes that are free to use in posts, a [GIF](https://birthday.video/happy-birthday-gif) for the chat, and the exact shape for a [Story](https://birthday.video/birthday-instagram-story) or [WhatsApp status](https://birthday.video/happy-birthday-whatsapp-status). Whatever you use, the same planning helps: one to three minutes, photos in order, the best one last, and a deadline for anyone sending you clips. [Birthday video ideas](https://birthday.video/birthday-video-ideas) has twenty-four starting points. ## Making birthday videos on a phone: questions ### Does the iPhone have a birthday video maker? Not one made for birthdays, but Photos turns pictures into memory movies with music, and iMovie makes Magic Movies from clips and photos you choose. ### Where is the highlight video option in Google Photos? In the **Create** tab, after Google’s December 2025 update. Older versions put it under the plus button. ### Does birthday.video work in Safari and Chrome on phones? Yes. It works in modern phone browsers, with nothing to install, and nothing is uploaded. ### Can I use a song from Spotify or Apple Music? Not in birthday.video: streaming songs are protected. Use a Happy Birthday tune from **Add music** or a song file saved on your phone. ### How do I save the finished video to my photos? After **Export video**, press **Share** and choose to save the video. On a computer, **Download video** saves the file. ### Can I make a GIF instead of a video? Yes. Press **Export video** and choose **GIF**. GIFs loop silently, which suits chats and comments. ## More birthday video guides * [ Birthday video maker Start from an animated template, add their name, photos and a song. ](https://birthday.video/) * [ Birthday video ideas Twenty-four ideas, quick and ambitious, each with where to start. ](https://birthday.video/birthday-video-ideas) * [ CapCut birthday templates Finding and using birthday templates in CapCut and Canva, or skipping the app. ](https://birthday.video/capcut-birthday-template) * [ Birthday video with photos and music Photos and clips mixed together under a tune or your own song. ](https://birthday.video/birthday-video-with-photos-and-music) * [ Happy birthday WhatsApp status video A vertical card under 90 seconds for status, and how to send it in HD. ](https://birthday.video/happy-birthday-whatsapp-status) * [ Birthday Instagram Story templates A 9:16 animated birthday Story or Reel, with words kept clear of the buttons. ](https://birthday.video/birthday-instagram-story) * [ Birthday video templates Every template in the editor, by occasion, with the formats it suits. ](https://birthday.video/birthday-video-templates)