HEIC to JPG

HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) has been the default photo format on iPhones since iOS 11. It stores images using HEVC compression, which produces files roughly half the size of an equivalent JPEG at the same quality. That is genuinely better engineering — but it comes with an ecosystem problem. Windows needs a paid codec from the Microsoft Store to even show a HEIC thumbnail, many web forms reject the file type outright, older Android phones cannot open it, and plenty of desktop editors still ignore it.

This converter decodes HEIC in the browser. Safari can decode the format natively, so on a Mac or iPhone the conversion runs instantly through the browser's own image pipeline. Chrome, Firefox and Edge cannot, so on those browsers the page loads libheif — the same open-source HEIF decoder used by most Linux image tools — compiled to WebAssembly, and decodes the file with that. That download only happens when you actually convert something, which is why the page itself stays light.

Once the image is decoded it is re-encoded to your chosen format. JPG is the safest destination: universally supported, small, and accepted by every upload form, printing service and government portal you are likely to meet. PNG is lossless, so it is the right pick when you are going to edit the image further and do not want compression artefacts compounding. WebP produces the smallest files of the three and is ideal if the photo is going onto a website.

There are two details worth knowing. First, iPhones store the photo's rotation as EXIF metadata rather than rotating the pixels; the decoder applies that rotation during conversion, so portrait shots come out upright instead of sideways. Second, a Live Photo or burst shot is stored as a HEIC containing several frames — the converter takes the primary still image, which is the frame you see in Photos.

If you would rather not convert at all, you can change the setting at the source: on your iPhone, open Settings → Camera → Formats and select "Most Compatible". New photos will be captured as JPEG. Photos already taken stay HEIC, which is where this tool comes in.