Ask LH: How Can I Mute My Facebook Video Uploads?

Dear Lifehacker, I made a peaceful video of clouds on my phone and put it on Facebook. However, when I viewed it there was a bunch of talking and car noises in the background. I want it to play in serene silence. Is there any way I can delete the sounds so I can put it back on Facebook? Thanks, Hubbub Hater

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Dear HH,

As far as we know, there’s no way to disable the audio when uploading videos directly from your phone to Facebook. Your best bet is to remove the sound with a third-party editing app prior to uploading.

Fortunately, this is a relatively simple procedure that you can do in-phone with a few finger taps. If you’re using an iPhone, simply fire up iMovie which should have come pre-installed on your device. Unlike some mobile editing apps, iMovie divides video and audio into separate tracks that you can manipulate independently of one another.

Apple explains how to remove audio on its support page, which we’ve replicated below:

  1. With your project open, in the project timeline, tap and hold the blue, purple, or green bar that represents the audio clip, until it pops off the timeline.
  2. Drag the clip out of the timeline until you see the puff of smoke in the corner of the clip, then release.

Too easy!

If you use Android, your phone almost certainly came with a basic editing app out-of-the-box. Check to see if it has any audio disabling options — if not, you’ll have to download a separate app.

There are oodles of free editing apps on the Google Play store that will get the job done. Some of our favourites include Camera ZOOM FX, PowerDirector and Google Camera.

Once the audio has been culled, you can upload the altered file onto Facebook as normal. If any readers have a favourite mobile video editor that’s beginner-friendly, let HH know in the comments.

Cheers
Lifehacker

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