Why does my iPhone save photos as HEIC?

To save **space on your phone and in iCloud**. A 12 MP iPhone photo as HEIC is around **1.5-2.5 MB**; the same shot as JPEG would be **3-5 MB**. You can switch back to JPEG in **Settings -> Camera -> Formats -> Most Compatible**, but Apple defaults to HEIC because storage savings add up fast across thousands of photos.

Why cannot Chrome, Firefox or Windows display HEIC?

HEIC requires an **HEVC decoder**, and HEVC is **encumbered by a patent pool** that demands licensing fees. Chrome and Firefox refuse to ship a decoder for legal reasons. Windows 10 and 11 offer the **HEIF Image Extensions** in the Microsoft Store, but the **HEVC Video Extensions** required for actual decoding cost about **$0.99**. Safari and the Apple ecosystem are the only place HEIC works natively for free, because Apple pays the license fee on your behalf.

Should I pick JPEG or PNG?

**Pick JPEG** unless you have a specific reason not to. For phone photos (the source of 99% of HEIC files) JPEG produces files **3-5x smaller than PNG** with no visible quality loss. **Pick PNG** if the image has **transparency you need to preserve**, contains **flat graphics or text screenshots** that compress better as PNG, or you intend to do **further lossless editing**.

What does the quality slider do?

It controls **JPEG compression aggressiveness**. **100 = no perceptible compression** (largest files), **50 = visible blockiness on smooth gradients** (smallest files). **85 is the industry standard** used by Photoshop "Save for Web", iOS exports and most CMSes. Going below **70** gains very little extra size reduction but starts producing visible artifacts. PNG output ignores this slider because PNG is lossless.

Can I convert a whole batch at once?

**Yes**. Drop multiple files on the upload area or pick several at once with Ctrl/Cmd-click. Each file is converted **sequentially** to keep the server responsive (HEIC decode is CPU-heavy, **1-3 seconds per file**). Once at least two files are done, the **"Download as ZIP"** button appears so you can grab them all in one archive.

Will my EXIF metadata (GPS, camera, date) be preserved?

**No**. The decode-and-reencode path **strips EXIF** as a side effect, which is **good for privacy** (iPhone photos contain precise GPS coordinates by default) but means the **capture date and camera model are lost**. If you need to keep dates, set the file modified time manually after download, or use a desktop tool like ExifTool that copies metadata across formats.

How does the converted file size compare to the original?

**Usually the JPEG output is larger** than the HEIC input - sometimes 2-3x. This is **expected**: HEIC uses HEVC, which is roughly **twice as efficient** as JPEG at the same visual quality. A 2 MB HEIC at quality 85 becomes about **4-5 MB as JPEG quality 85**. If file size matters more than universal compatibility, **keep HEIC** or convert to **WebP** with our image converter.

Are my photos uploaded somewhere? Stored? Logged?

**No persistence**. The file is held in **memory on our server for the few seconds** it takes to decode and reencode, then garbage-collected. **Nothing touches disk**, no logs include the file content, no caching layer keeps a copy. The 25 MB size cap is a memory guard, not a quota. Rate limit is 30 conversions per hour per IP.

Is JPEG lossy and PNG lossless? Does it matter for a photo?

**Yes and yes, but rarely visible for photos**. JPEG throws away information your eye does not notice (subtle color variations in smooth gradients). For a **camera photo** the loss is invisible at quality 85+. For **screenshots, text, line art or images that will be re-edited many times**, PNG avoids accumulated quality loss across saves. For one-and-done photo export, JPEG is fine and **much smaller**.

HEIC to JPG/PNG Converter - free

Files to convert

Drop HEIC files here

Accepts .heic and .heif. Multiple files at once, up to 25 MB per file.

Files are not persisted to disk or logged. 25 MB cap, 30 conversions per hour.

What is HEIC and how do I open it on Windows?

HEIC is the default photo format on iPhones since iOS 11. It looks like JPG but stores roughly half the file size at the same quality. The trade-off: Windows, Chrome, Firefox, Discord, Slack and most older photo apps cannot display HEIC without a paid plugin or a workaround.

This tool converts HEIC and HEIF photos to JPG or PNG in seconds. Drop one file or a whole batch from the iPhone export, pick the output format, hit convert.

The decode happens on our server because no browser engine ships an HEIC decoder out of the box. Files are never written to disk, never logged, and deleted from memory as soon as the response is sent.

How to convert HEIC to JPG

Drag your .heic / .heif files onto the dropzone, or click "Choose files". AirDrop or iCloud exports from iPhone work directly.

Pick JPEG (universal, smaller, no transparency) or PNG (lossless, larger). For phone photos JPEG is almost always the right choice.

If you picked JPEG, set quality with the slider. 85 is the sweet spot: about 1/10 the size of a 100% JPEG with no visible loss on photos.

Click "Convert all". Each file takes 1-3 seconds (the server runs libheif). The thumbnail appears once decode succeeds.

Download files one by one or, for a batch, hit "Download as ZIP" to grab everything in a single archive.

When this tool pays off

Common situations where converting HEIC matters:

Uploading iPhone photos to a website (WordPress, Shopify, an old CMS) that rejects HEIC. Convert to JPEG quality 85 and the upload just works.
Sharing photos with Windows / Android friends who see "Cannot open this file" when they try to preview your HEIC. JPEG opens everywhere from Notepad onward.
Sending photos to print shops that only accept JPG or PNG. Most print shops still reject HEIC outright.
Embedding in emails for clients who use Outlook, Gmail, Thunderbird. Email clients cannot inline HEIC, so the attachment shows as a broken icon.
Editing in older apps like Photoshop CS5, GIMP 2.8, or the stock Windows Photo Viewer that pre-date HEIC support.
Archiving to disk in a format you will still be able to open in 20 years. JPG and PNG are not going anywhere; HEIC depends on a HEVC patent pool that may be deprecated.

Related: image converter for non-HEIC formats, image compressor to shrink JPGs after conversion, EXIF stripper to remove GPS and camera metadata.

Questions and answers

HEIC stands for High Efficiency Image Container. It is a file based on the HEIF standard (ISO/IEC 23008-12) that stores images compressed with the HEVC / H.265 codec, the same codec used for 4K video. Compared to JPEG at the same visual quality, HEIC files are typically 40-50% smaller. Apple adopted it as the default on iPhone 7 and newer when running iOS 11 or later.

What is HEIC and how do I open it on Windows?

This tool converts HEIC and HEIF photos to JPG or PNG in seconds. Drop one file or a whole batch from the iPhone export, pick the output format, hit convert.

How to convert HEIC to JPG

Drag your .heic / .heif files onto the dropzone, or click "Choose files". AirDrop or iCloud exports from iPhone work directly.

Pick JPEG (universal, smaller, no transparency) or PNG (lossless, larger). For phone photos JPEG is almost always the right choice.

If you picked JPEG, set quality with the slider. 85 is the sweet spot: about 1/10 the size of a 100% JPEG with no visible loss on photos.

Click "Convert all". Each file takes 1-3 seconds (the server runs libheif). The thumbnail appears once decode succeeds.

Download files one by one or, for a batch, hit "Download as ZIP" to grab everything in a single archive.

When this tool pays off

Common situations where converting HEIC matters:

Uploading iPhone photos to a website (WordPress, Shopify, an old CMS) that rejects HEIC. Convert to JPEG quality 85 and the upload just works.
Sharing photos with Windows / Android friends who see "Cannot open this file" when they try to preview your HEIC. JPEG opens everywhere from Notepad onward.
Sending photos to print shops that only accept JPG or PNG. Most print shops still reject HEIC outright.
Embedding in emails for clients who use Outlook, Gmail, Thunderbird. Email clients cannot inline HEIC, so the attachment shows as a broken icon.
Editing in older apps like Photoshop CS5, GIMP 2.8, or the stock Windows Photo Viewer that pre-date HEIC support.
Archiving to disk in a format you will still be able to open in 20 years. JPG and PNG are not going anywhere; HEIC depends on a HEVC patent pool that may be deprecated.

Related: image converter for non-HEIC formats, image compressor to shrink JPGs after conversion, EXIF stripper to remove GPS and camera metadata.

Questions and answers

HEIC to JPG/PNG Converter

Drop HEIC files here

What is HEIC and how do I open it on Windows?

How to convert HEIC to JPG

When this tool pays off

Questions and answers

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HEIC to JPG/PNG Converter

Drop HEIC files here

What is HEIC and how do I open it on Windows?

How to convert HEIC to JPG

When this tool pays off

Questions and answers

Related tools

Images converter

Image Compressor

Image Resizer

EXIF Metadata Stripper

Image to Base64