Tiny Desk AI on iPhone and Android: Photos and Downloads

You can use the Tiny Desk web studio from your phone without installing a Tiny Desk app. Start with one consenting adult's JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 8 MiB. The current verified template replaces one lead singer in a fixed 15-second performance. You need to sign in, verify your email and have a video credit before submitting.

Before you begin

Open the studio in Safari on iPhone or Chrome on Android. If a social app opens the site inside its own browser and the file picker or download does not work, open the address in Safari or Chrome instead. Keep your original photo and a supported exported copy on the device.

A selected-photo preview is not a generated video. Review the photo examples and cropping checklist, then check the current availability and cost in the studio.

Prepare an iPhone photo, including HEIC

1. Choose a sharp photo with the full head, visible eyes, chin and shoulders. Crop a copy to one person if necessary.
2. Check the exported file type and size. Tiny Desk accepts JPG/JPEG, PNG and WebP; it does not convert an unsupported HEIC file just because you rename it.
3. On iPhone versions with Apple's Preview app, open the image there, open the actions menu next to the filename, choose Export, and select JPEG. If a size slider is offered, reduce the file while keeping visible facial detail. Save the copy to a location you can find in Files.
4. On a Mac, the alternative is Preview → File → Export → JPEG, then transfer that new file to the phone or select it on the computer. Keep the original unchanged.
5. Choose the new supported file in the studio and inspect its preview. If it is still larger than 8 MiB, export a smaller copy; an upload rejection does not require another generation.

See Apple's instructions for iPhone image export and Mac image conversion. Available menus depend on the installed OS version.

Prepare an Android photo

Use the phone's file picker to choose a local JPG, PNG or WebP. In your photo editor, crop a copy to one person, preserving the complete head and shoulders, and export it in a supported format. Check the saved copy's size in your file manager before choosing it again. A link to an online album is not an uploaded photo file.

Clear glasses with little reflection and a visible pair of eyes are easier to inspect than sunglasses; facial hair alone is not a reason to promise rejection or acceptance. Review the actual preview and the photo guide.

Submit once and find the task

1. Sign in to the intended account and verify its email. If you selected a local photo before signing in, reselect it when the studio asks you to upload.
2. Confirm that the photo has uploaded, the service is available, you have sufficient credits and the consent checkbox is selected.
3. Review the fixed template and displayed cost, then submit once.
4. Find the task in My videos. A queued, submitting or processing task is not a finished file. Use its status check rather than submitting a replacement because the browser was slow.
5. If you return later, use the same account. A closed browser is not proof that the task failed.

For missing tasks, unknown submissions or failed jobs, follow the task troubleshooting guide.

Save a completed MP4 on iPhone

Open a successful task in My videos, preview it, then tap the music or silent download option that is available on that task. Wait for the browser's download to finish. The filename includes with-music or silent, so save both if you need both.

In Safari, check its downloads list. In Files, browse to Downloads under the selected storage location, such as iCloud Drive or On My iPhone. Apple explains where downloaded files are stored. Open the MP4 to confirm it plays. If your iPhone offers Share → Save Video, that saves a separate copy to Photos; a download need not appear in Photos automatically.

Save a completed MP4 on Android

Use the available download option on the successful task and allow Chrome to finish. Open Chrome → menu → Downloads, or use your device's Files app to find the downloaded MP4. Folder names can vary by device and browser settings. Google's Android download instructions describe the browser steps.

If a file fails to open, check that the download completed and that you selected the intended variant. Refresh the task and retry the download; downloading an available result does not create a new generation.

Use a computer-to-phone link

The studio's phone photo-transfer option uses a private 10-minute session. Generate a fresh code on the computer if it expires. The original device file is not deleted by a transfer.

For a successful task, the phone-result sharing option creates a 10-minute link for viewing its result on another device. Keep that link private. If it expires, return to the owner account and refresh the sharing link while the result is still available. The phone-result link is separate from the account's music and silent download choices.

Save a local copy promptly

A sharing link's expiry is separate from file retention. The current generated-file pipeline has a seven-day lifecycle, so keep your download promptly. Uploaded-photo access expires after 24 hours, with physical cleanup occurring separately. See the privacy policy for retention and provider-copy details.

You can inspect the existing public sample files before starting your own task. A public sample download is not a personalised render or proof that your own generation has completed.

Open the studio.