Guide
You can edit a whole UGC video on your phone, right in the browser
Updated
You don't need a laptop to edit UGC. Film on your phone, then either edit by hand in a phone app or let Cutroom's Magic Editor make the edit in your phone's browser.
In short
- Yes, you can edit UGC on your phone: film it upright, cut the slow start and the ums, add captions, show the product and end with a call to action.
- By hand, CapCut on your phone can split out your mistakes and make captions from your voice, but you make every cut yourself.
- Cutroom's Magic Editor works in your phone's browser, with no app to install: you upload the clip, press one button, and Jacob, its AI editor, makes the whole edit. Then you change it by asking in a chat.
A skincare creator's sunscreen clip, before and after Cutroom's Magic Editor on a phone
An example of a clip filmed and edited on one phone. You ask for the changes in the chat.
Drawing of an example clip, not a customer video
Before · the clip as filmed
A 30-second phone video of a skincare creator in her bathroom, holding a sunscreen
“Hi guys, um, so this sunscreen doesn't leave a white cast, even on my skin. It, it It sinks in … (pause) in about a minute, and my makeup goes right on top.”
struck through = what Jacob cuts
After · Jacob's first edit, Verdict style
“This sunscreen doesn't leave a white cast, even on my skin. It sinks in in about a minute, and my makeup goes right on top.”
- On “cast”: you full screen while you give your opinion
- On “sunscreen”: you in a small card while your photo sunscreen.jpg shows on a laptop screen
- On “makeup”: a short stock clip of makeup going on, over your voice
- On “top”: after this last word, a typed call to action and a follow card
- Under the whole video: calm music under your voice
window: sunscreen.jpg
Then you ask Jacob
- “Make the key words stand out more”v2the same edit, with bigger and brighter key words
- “Change the music to something calmer”v3a new version with calmer music, the cuts unchanged
Can you edit UGC on your phone?
Yes. A phone films in the right shape for TikTok, Reels and Shorts, and a short UGC video doesn't need a big screen. What it needs is a few clear edits.
TikTok's own ad guide asks for your hook, the line that makes people stay, in the first 6 seconds. It also asks for captions or text on screen and a casual, not too polished look. Phone footage already has that look.
- Cut everything before your first strong sentence.
- Cut the long pauses, the ums and anything you said twice.
- Add captions, so the video works with the sound off.
- Show the product on the words where you name it.
- End by saying what people should do next.
Filming and uploading from your phone
Hold the phone upright, so the video is tall like a TikTok. If you film sideways, the sides get cut off later. Film in a quiet room. Cutroom can't remove background noise, so it's easier to avoid it when you film.
Mistakes are fine. Keep talking and say the line again; the repeat gets cut in the edit. Take a few photos of the product too, since they can go on screen when you name it.
- In Cutroom you upload the clip from your camera roll in your phone's browser. It can be up to 3 minutes long, as MP4, MOV or WebM.
- Add your product photos or a screen recording in the "Your files" step, up to 20 files. Pictures can be PNG, JPEG or WebP up to 25 MB; recordings can be MP4, MOV or WebM up to 200 MB.
- With no files, Jacob finds stock clips that fit what you say.
How Cutroom's Magic Editor edits a video like this
Jacob is the AI editor inside Cutroom's Magic Editor: it edits your video for you, then changes it when you ask in a chat.
The 4 styles, as example edits
Steps
Three steps, four angles
Skit
Hook, hard stop, demo card
Verdict
The tester's verdict
Poster
Typography does the talking
Hover or tap an example to play it, without sound. These are example edits of each style; the presenters in them are generated with AI.
- Your take: one video of you talking, up to 3 minutes
- Your style: one of 4: Steps, Skit, Verdict or Poster
- Your files: screenshots, a screen recording or a logo, if you have them
- Your goal: what the video is for, in a few words, if you like
- Jacob makes it: normally 10 to 15 minutes, and you get an email
- Your edit: ask Jacob for changes in a chat, then export
Then you ask Jacob, for example
- “Make this about 10 seconds shorter”
- “Put a clip on the strongest sentence”
- “Change the music to something calmer”
Each change is a new version, and going back is free. First cut 250 credits, each change 40, questions free, export 30 credits per started minute.
Editing by hand in CapCut
If you'd rather cut it yourself, use CapCut's phone app. It takes a few taps per mistake.
- Tap New project and pick your clip.
- Move to each mistake, tap Split above the timeline, and delete the bad piece.
- Tap Text, then Auto Captions, to get captions from your voice. Check them for wrong words.
- Tap Export at the top when you're done.
Editing in your phone's browser with Cutroom's Magic Editor
Pick a style (Verdict fits a product review best) and press "Make my video". Jacob makes the whole edit. It cuts the ums and slow parts, adds captions and music, and puts your photos on the right words.
It normally takes 10 to 15 minutes, and you get an email when your first cut is ready. You can close the page while Jacob works. Your video keeps going.
- On a phone, the chat with Jacob comes first and you can hide or show the video. You type what to change, like a text message.
- "Remove all the ums and uhs" cleans up anything that slipped through.
- "Make this about 10 seconds shorter" trims the weakest sentences.
- "Make the key words stand out more" makes the important words bigger and brighter.
- A change costs 40 credits. A question that changes nothing is free. Every change Jacob makes is a new version. The earlier versions stay, and going back to one is free.
Exporting and sending from your phone
When you like a version, press Export. You get an email when the video is ready. Then you download it to your phone and send it to the brand, or post it yourself.
- The file is a vertical MP4, 1080 by 1920, 30 frames a second, with the sound levelled. There is no square or wide version.
- Cutroom doesn't post to TikTok, Instagram or YouTube for you.
- Your first video is free, with a Cutroom mark across the middle. Lite at $19.99 a month removes it, which matters for paid brand work.
- Cutroom runs in your phone's browser, like Safari or Chrome, so there is nothing to install.
Questions people ask
- Can I edit UGC on my phone without a laptop?
- Yes. You can film, edit and export a UGC video on one phone, either in a phone editing app or in Cutroom's Magic Editor in your phone's browser.
- What is the best app to edit UGC on an iPhone?
- It depends on who does the cutting. CapCut is a common pick if you want to edit by hand: you split out mistakes, then tap Text and Auto Captions. Cutroom works in Safari or any phone browser and makes the edit for you.
- Does Cutroom have a phone app?
- No. Cutroom runs in your phone's browser. On a phone the chat with Jacob comes first, and you can hide or show the video while you ask for changes.
- How long does it take to edit UGC on a phone with Cutroom?
- Normally 10 to 15 minutes for the first edit, and you get an email when it's ready. You can close the page and put your phone away while Jacob works.
Film one clip on your phone, upload it in your browser, and get the finished UGC video back. Your first video is free.