Use your webcam as a mirror
Press “Turn on the mirror” and allow the camera. The picture is flipped left to right, so it moves the way a mirror does: lift your right hand and it rises on the right. Use it to fix your hair before a call, check your teeth after lunch, or see how a shirt looks on camera. On a phone it opens the front camera.
Full screen fills the whole display with your reflection. Brightness, contrast and warmth change the look of the mirror only, and zoom gets you closer for detail. Take a snapshot to save exactly what the mirror shows. The video stays on this page: nothing is recorded or uploaded, and the camera turns off when you press Stop or leave.
Why video calls show you the other way round
Most call apps show your own preview mirrored, because a flipped face is the one you know from the bathroom mirror and anything else looks slightly wrong to you. The people on the call see you un-mirrored, the way a photo shows you. That is why a parting can seem to jump sides, and why writing you hold up reads backwards in your preview but the right way round for everyone else.
Switch off “Mirror” to see what they see. Most faces are a little uneven, so the un-mirrored view can look odd at first. It is the version everyone else is used to.
How to frame yourself for video calls
- Eyes on the upper line. Turn on the framing guide and line your eyes up with the dashed line, one third down from the top. That leaves a little space above your head without cutting off your chin.
- Camera at eye level. A laptop on a desk looks up your nose. Raise it on a stand or a stack of books until the lens is level with your eyes, or slightly above.
- Head and shoulders. Sit about an arm’s length from the camera, so the frame holds your head and the top of your shoulders. Too close distorts your face; too far makes you small on a shared screen.
- Check the background. The grid makes it easier to spot a door frame growing out of your head or clutter right behind you. Shift a little left or right until the space behind you is calm.
How to light your face for calls
Put the light in front of you, not behind. A window in front of you is the best free light there is. A window at your back turns your face into a silhouette, because the camera exposes for the bright background. If you can’t move the desk, close the blind behind you and add a lamp in front.
Keep lights near eye level and a little to one side, so they light your face without shining in your glasses. A light from directly above casts shadows under the eyes; a desk lamp from below looks spooky. Soft, wide light flatters more than a bare bulb: bounce it off a wall or put it behind a diffuser.
No lamp? Turn on “Ring light”. The screen around your picture turns white and acts as a soft light on your face. Turn your screen brightness up and go full screen for the most light. It works best in a dim room and close to the screen.
When an external webcam or a key light helps
If the mirror looks grainy even in good light, or soft and smeared when you move, the camera is the limit. Laptop cameras are small and often send 720p or less. A 1080p USB webcam on top of the monitor gives a cleaner picture and a better angle. The webcam finder narrows the choice by how you use it, and the best webcams for video calls are a good place to start. To see your camera’s real resolution and frame rate, run the webcam test.
If the picture is fine but your face is dark, a light fixes more than a new camera. A small key light or a monitor light bar gives steady, even light at any time of day: the light finder has both.
Questions
Is this online mirror private?
Yes. The picture goes from your camera to this page and nowhere else. Nothing is recorded, uploaded or stored. Snapshots are made in your browser and saved only if you download them.
Is the mirror the same as how others see me?
No. With “Mirror” on you see yourself as a mirror shows you. Other people, in person and on calls, see the un-mirrored view. Switch the mirror off to see that version.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes, in Safari on an iPhone and Chrome on Android. It opens the front camera, and a camera picker appears when the phone offers more than one. Full screen fills the display where the browser allows it.
Why is the picture black or the camera not starting?
Check for a privacy shutter or a camera key on the keyboard, and close other apps that may be using the camera. If the browser blocked it, the steps shown on the page walk you through allowing it for your browser and system.
Do the brightness and zoom change my camera for calls?
No. They only change this mirror. To look brighter on calls, add light in front of you or use your call app’s own video settings.