HEIC to JPG
Open iPhone photos anywhere
Files are processed on your device and are never sent to a server.
How to convert HEIC to JPG
Add the photos and download them as JPG. Several can be converted at once, which is the usual case — a batch of holiday pictures sent from someone’s iPhone.
The first conversion in a session briefly prepares the decoder your browser needs. After that it is immediate, and everything runs on your own device.
Why this keeps happening
Since 2017, iPhones have saved photos as HEIC by default. Apple chose it because it stores the same image in roughly half the space, which matters when a phone holds thousands of pictures.
The trouble starts when those photos are shared with anyone outside the Apple ecosystem. Windows will not display them without an extension from the Microsoft Store, part of which is a paid add-on. Android handles them inconsistently. Older photo editors, print services and upload forms often reject them outright. The person receiving the photos usually cannot open them at all and has no idea why.
Converting to JPG solves it in every case, because JPG is the format everything has understood for thirty years.
Quality and file size
Photos are decoded at full resolution and saved at a high quality setting, so the difference is very hard to see even side by side. Expect the JPG to be larger than the HEIC — that is not a fault, it is the whole reason Apple uses HEIC.
Live Photos are converted as a still image, since the motion cannot be stored in a JPG.
Your photos never leave your device
Personal photographs are exactly the kind of file people should hesitate to upload to a stranger’s server. Nothing is uploaded here: the decoding and conversion happen in your browser, and no copy exists anywhere but your own downloads folder.
What is a HEIC file?
It is the format iPhones save photos in by default. It stores the same picture as a JPG in about half the space, but far less software can open it.
Why will Windows not open it?
Windows needs an extension from the Microsoft Store to display HEIC, and part of it is a paid add-on. Converting to JPG avoids the problem entirely.
Does converting lose quality?
The photo is decoded at full resolution and saved at a high quality setting, so any difference is very hard to see. The JPG will usually be larger than the HEIC, because HEIC compresses more efficiently.
Can I stop my iPhone producing HEIC files?
Yes. In Settings, under Camera, then Formats, choosing "Most Compatible" makes the phone save JPG instead. It applies to new photos only.