How to convert iPhone photos (HEIC) to JPG in your browser

How to convert HEIC to JPG (or PNG) in the browser

To convert an iPhone HEIC photo to JPG, upload the .heic (or .heif) file to the conversion tool, leave JPG selected in the format list next to the button (the other option is PNG) and click "Convert and download". The photo is decoded in your own browser and comes out as a high-quality JPG, ready to open on Windows, attach to an email or upload to any form. If you would rather have a file with no loss at all, pick PNG.

1. Open the HEIC conversion tool.
2. Upload the .heic or .heif photo from your iPhone: one or several at once.
3. In the format list next to the button, keep JPG (for photos) or choose PNG (no loss at all, larger file).
4. Click "Convert and download" (or "Convert N images" when there is more than one). Each photo downloads as a separate file, with the original name and the new .jpg or .png extension.

Why the iPhone saves HEIC, and why so many things won't open it

Since 2017, the iPhone has saved photos in the HEIC format (also called HEIF). It keeps the same quality in roughly half the space of a JPG, which saves storage on the phone. The trouble starts when the photo leaves the device: many Windows programs, upload forms, older editors and some messaging apps simply do not recognize .heic. JPG, on the other hand, has been understood by practically everything for decades. Converting fixes it on the spot: the photo opens in the Windows viewer, uploads to any form and attaches to any email.

What changes in the file (and what doesn't)

• JPG comes out at 92% quality: the difference from the original is not noticeable on screen. Because HEIC compresses better, the JPG usually takes more space than the original file: that is the price of opening anywhere.
• PNG comes out with no loss at all, but the file gets much bigger. It is only worth it if you will edit the photo many times or need it untouched.
• Sharpness is kept; colors stay practically the same, but the iPhone color profile does not come along, so very vivid tones may come out slightly less intense. If the HEIC has transparent areas (rare in photos), JPG paints them white; PNG preserves the transparency.
• A photo taken upright comes out upright: the orientation the iPhone recorded is applied during conversion, and the JPG width and height are those of the photo as you see it. The tool does not resize or crop.
• The photo's hidden data does not come along: location (GPS), date and device model are dropped during conversion. Good for publishing, bad if you want to keep the original date: in that case, keep the HEIC.
• A HEIC that holds several images (a sequence or burst) becomes a single photo: only the first image in the file is converted.

JPG or PNG: which one to pick

For everyday photos (people, landscapes, photographed documents), pick JPG: the file is lighter and opens anywhere. Pick PNG when the photo will go through several edits or when you want zero loss, even invisible loss. iPhone photos have no transparent background, so the transparency argument, common in other conversions, does not apply here. If the JPG is too heavy for the email or the form, run it through the compress image tool before sending. What that compression does, and does not do, is in how to reduce image file size.

Rather not convert every time? Set the iPhone to JPG

If HEIC keeps getting in your way, you can make the iPhone shoot straight to JPG again. It is a one-time change in the phone's settings, and older photos stay in HEIC: for those, use the tool above.

• Open Settings and tap Camera.
• Tap Formats.
• Select Most Compatible: from then on, new photos are saved as JPG.
• For older photos still in HEIC, use the conversion tool on the ones you need to send.

Common mistakes when converting HEIC

• Renaming the file from .heic to .jpg: that converts nothing; the program still cannot open the photo. It has to be converted for real.
• Expecting the JPG to be smaller than the HEIC: it is usually the opposite. If size matters, compress the JPG afterwards.
• Uploading a file that is not HEIC/HEIF: the tool accepts only those two extensions. For JPG, PNG, WebP and GIF there are other conversion tools.
• Needing the photo's date or location after publishing: they are not in the converted JPG. Write them down first if they matter.
• A damaged or incomplete HEIC file: the notice "Could not convert the HEIC image." appears. Download the photo from the iPhone again and retry.

The conversion happens entirely in your browser: the iPhone photo is decoded and saved on your own device and is never sent to any server. The HEIC decoder is part of the site itself: nothing is fetched from outside services.

Limit: up to 2 GB per file, with no limit on how many. Very large photos depend on the browser's memory; if one fails, try one at a time.

That way you solve the urgent case right now, converting the photo you need, and can also set the phone so it stops producing .heic files. Either way, the photo comes out as a high-quality JPG that opens anywhere. If the photos are going into a single PDF, the path continues in how to combine images into a PDF; and if you only want to look at a HEIC without converting it, the image viewer shows it on the spot: how to view files online.