# Compress MOV on your Mac, never uploaded.

> Make iPhone and QuickTime MOV files lighter on your Mac with x264 for chat and social, and compare the copy frame by frame. Nothing is uploaded.

- URL: https://meetsmally.com/compress-mov/
- Language: en
- Spanish version: https://meetsmally.com/es/comprimir-mov/
- Site map for assistants: https://meetsmally.com/llms.txt

A .mov from an iPhone or QuickTime is often too heavy to send. Smally for Mac makes a lighter H.264 copy for chat and social, and your video never leaves your Mac.

## How it works

1. **Drag your file in.** Drop your file on the drop zone above, or choose it with the file picker. Nothing is uploaded.
2. **Compare the original and the copy.** Press Preview on the finished row, drag the divider between the original and the copy, and look at it at 100 % or 200 %.
3. **Download the lighter copy.** Download the copy you like. Your original stays untouched, and a copy is offered only when it is lighter.

## What Smally for Mac makes from a MOV

A copy for sharing: H.264 video made with x264, up to 1080p and 30 frames a second, so a 4K iPhone clip becomes a 1080p copy. The HDR an iPhone records (HLG) is converted so the colours look right on any screen.

A copy is kept only when it is at least 10% lighter than the original; otherwise your video stays as it is. Videos can be up to 8 GB.

## Check it before you send it

- Video copies are made for sharing, so they can look a little different from the original. Play the video next to its copy, or step through it a frame at a time, before you rely on one.
- Save puts the copy next to the original. Smally never replaces your video.

## What it skips

- Some videos are skipped, with the reason: protected files, slow motion, HDR10 and Dolby Vision profile 5, other wide-colour video, and clips with more than one video track.

## Why a MOV is not compressed in the browser

Video needs the app, on your Mac. The browser version takes JPEG, PNG and WebP images, and a .mov dropped there is left alone and never uploaded.

## Quick facts

| This kind of file | Smally in the browser | Smally for Mac |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What it takes | Not video: the row says Smally for Mac takes it, and nothing is uploaded | MP4, MOV and M4V, up to 8 GB |
| What it makes | Nothing: video needs the app | An H.264 copy for sharing, up to 1080p and 30 frames a second, made with x264 |
| What stays | The .mov, untouched | The original; Save puts the copy next to it |
| Per batch | Images only: up to 5 files at a time | Up to 50 files at a time |
| Where it is processed | In this tab, on your device. Nothing is uploaded | On your Mac. Nothing is uploaded |
| When the original is kept | Always: video is not handled here | A copy would not be at least 10% lighter |

## Questions

- **Does Smally upload my MOV?** No. Smally for Mac compresses on your Mac, and your files never leave it.
- **Can it shrink a 4K iPhone MOV?** Yes. The copy is H.264 at up to 1080p and 30 frames a second, made for chat and social. A 4K clip becomes a 1080p copy.
- **Will the copy look the same?** It can look a little different, because it is made for sharing. Compare it with the original side by side or frame by frame before you use it.
- **What if my MOV is already small?** A copy is kept only when it is at least 10% lighter than the original. When it would not be, Smally leaves your video as it is.
- **Does the browser version compress MOV?** No. Smally in the browser takes JPEG, PNG and WebP. Video is for Smally for Mac.

## More

- [Compress video](https://meetsmally.com/compress-video/)
- [Compress PDF](https://meetsmally.com/compress-pdf/)
- [HEIC to JPG](https://meetsmally.com/heic-to-jpg/)

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Smally in the browser. Smally for Mac 0.16.0 (build 35, beta) needs Apple silicon and macOS 26 or later; download: https://downloads.meetsmally.com/latest. Files are never uploaded. Source of truth: https://meetsmally.com/compress-mov/