On a computer, in your browser
On YouTube, pause the video, then press the comma key (,) to go back one frame and the period key (.) to go forward one frame. This works on most videos in a desktop browser. Some browser extensions add frame stepping to other sites too.
With a media player
In VLC, pause the video and press the E key to advance one frame at a time. In QuickTime Player on a Mac, pause and use the left and right arrow keys to step frame by frame.
In a video editor
Editors such as DaVinci Resolve or Premiere Pro show a timeline where every frame can be selected. It is the most precise method, but heavy to set up for a quick check.
On a phone
Instagram and TikTok do not offer frame-by-frame viewing. You can drag the progress bar slowly, or record your screen and open the recording in a gallery or editing app, but you will often miss the exact frame.
Letting a tool do it for you
When you are looking for an image that appears for a single frame, stepping through hundreds of frames by hand is slow. FrameSonar analyzes every frame of a public Reel, TikTok or YouTube Short and shows only the frames that stand out from their neighbors, with their position in the video. Paste the link and you get the answer in seconds.
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