CSS backface-visibility Property

Example

Hide and show the back face of two rotated <div> elements:

#div1 {
  -webkit-backface-visibility: hidden; /* Safari */
  backface-visibility: hidden;
}

#div2 {
  -webkit-backface-visibility: visible; /* Safari */
  backface-visibility: visible;
}

Definition and Usage

The backface-visibility property defines whether or not the back face of an element should be visible when facing the user.

The back face of an element is a mirror image of the front face being displayed.

This property is useful when an element is rotated. It lets you choose if the user should see the back face or not.

We can use the rotateY(180deg) to rotate the element on the Y-axis, so that it will show the back face of element.

The visibility of this back face is controlled by this property.

Default value:	visible
Inherited:	no
Animatable:	no.
Version:	CSS3
JavaScript syntax:	object.style.backfaceVisibility="hidden"

• Inherited : "Inherited = no" means that it cannot takes (inherit) it's value from it's parent element.
• object - object in javascript means the element on which backface-visibility is applied.
• Animatable - "Animatable = no" means that it cannot be animated with CSS @keyframes.

Browser Support

The numbers in the table specify the first browser version that fully supports the property.

Numbers followed by -webkit- or -moz- specify the first version that worked with a prefix.

Property
backface-visibility	36.0 12.0 -webkit-	10.0	16.0 10.0 -moz-	4.0 -webkit-	23.0 15.0 -webkit-

CSS Syntax

backface-visibility: visible|hidden|initial|inherit;

Property Values

Value	Description	Demo
visible	Default value. The backside is visible
hidden	The backside is not visible
initial	Sets this property to its default value.
inherit	Inherits this property from its parent element.