MomentStays留刻

Android Motion Photos ⇄ Apple Live Photos, on your Mac

Your story, still at the very moment. The original frame, restored across devices.

A Motion Photo, frame by frame. Click any frame to make it the cover.

Download for macOS Source on GitHubFree and open source, macOS 12+, runs entirely on your Mac

Feedback welcome

Found a failure? Tell us, and we will fix it

If a conversion fails, or the result does not look right, please open an issue and describe what happened: the source device and format, the conversion direction, the app version, what you expected, and what you got instead. If you can share a sample that reproduces the failure, please remove sensitive information first: use a photo that contains no personal content, and strip location and other private metadata before uploading.

Report an issue

Three things it keeps

Nothing that matters is lost

Cover frame

The frame you chose

Matched to the exact frame by its original timestamp
Missing timing is reported, never guessed
Want it sharper? Some photos offer high-res candidate frames, with the motion unchanged

Audio & video

Never re-encoded

Original audio and video samples, just rewrapped
Checked sample by sample before output
Note: Apple HEIC → Android JPEG re-encodes the still: different format, and Android’s HEIC support is limited

HDR

Kept, or clearly flagged

Ultra HDR gain maps kept with their parameters
Unsupported HDR is flagged, never faked
Note: Apple gain maps converted for Android may not be bit-exact
Note: High-res candidate frames carry no HDR gain map

How it works

Three steps

1
Add
Files, folders, or your Photos library
2
Convert
Pick a direction and format, batches welcome
3
Keep
Straight into a Photos album, or save as files

Supported formats

Direction	From	Output
Android → Apple	Google-compatible, Huawei/Honor, Samsung (incl. some HEIC), OPPO, vivo	Live Photo (JPEG/HEIC + MOV)
Apple → Android	Google/generic, Xiaomi, Samsung, Huawei/Honor, OPPO, vivo	Motion Photo (JPEG)
Apple → Android	Samsung	Motion Photo (HEIC, original encoding)

FAQ

Can’t I just copy the file to my iPhone?

No. The formats differ, so it shows up as a still photo

Will I lose quality?

Video and audio: never, they’re rewrapped and verified. Android → iPhone keeps the photo as is; if you pick a high-res candidate cover instead, that frame is decoded to JPEG without the original HDR. iPhone HEIC → Android JPEG must re-encode the still (Android’s HEIC support is limited), and the HDR gain map may not carry over losslessly

Are my photos uploaded?

No. Everything happens on your Mac

Can I convert back to Android?

Yes. Choose Apple → Android and the recipient’s phone brand

Is it free?

Yes, free and open source (GPL-3.0). Sponsoring on GitHub is welcome, never required

More how-to guides

Get MomentStays

One DMG. Nothing else to install

Download for macOS

Tested on Intel / macOS 12; Apple Silicon testing in progress
Not notarized: if macOS blocks the first launch, go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway

Build from source

git clone https://github.com/LinoFish/MomentStays.git
cd MomentStays
bash scripts/build_app.sh               # Intel
bash scripts/build_app.sh --universal   # Universal
open dist/MomentStays.app