What a HEIC file is
HEIF stands for High Efficiency Image File Format. It is an international standard, ISO/IEC 23008-12, published by the MPEG group as part 12 of its MPEG-H family, with a first edition in 2017. MPEG describes it in five words: a file format for HEVC still images. HEVC is a video codec, and HEIF stores a still image compressed with it inside a container built on the ISO Base Media File Format (ISO/IEC 14496-12).
HEIC is what the file is called when the image inside is HEVC. Nokia's technical notes on the format explain that the heic brand means the picture uses the HEVC Main or Main Still Picture profile, and .heic is the matching extension. So HEIC is a kind of HEIF, the kind almost everyone meets in practice.
Apple adopted the format with iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra, and iPhone 7 and later models can capture in it. On those devices the camera setting called High Efficiency, which Apple recommends, saves photos as HEIF and videos as HEVC. Apple's reason is storage: it says the two formats offer better compression than JPEG and H.264 while preserving the same visual quality, so the same number of photos takes less room on the phone and in iCloud.
Why Windows and many sites reject it
The format needs an HEVC decoder, which is where it breaks down. On Windows, Microsoft's help page for the Photos app sends you to the Microsoft Store for two add-ons: the HEIF Image Extensions, which are free, and the HEVC Video Extensions, which cost $0.99. The page states that you need both, even if you only plan on using photos and not videos. On a work PC where you cannot install Store apps, that is the end of the road.
Web forms are the second wall. If an upload form lists the file types it accepts and HEIC is not among them, the file is refused before it ever leaves your computer, and the error message does not always say why. That is the usual story behind a job portal or an application form refusing a photo straight from a phone.
Apple knows about the gap and papers over it in places. According to its support page, when you share from an iPhone through AirDrop, Messages or email, the photo might be sent automatically in a more compatible format such as JPEG if the receiving device does not support HEIF, and photos imported over USB may be converted too unless Keep Originals is switched on in the Photos settings. That is why the problem often appears only when you copy files directly or download them from a cloud folder: those paths hand you the original HEIC.
Converting on this site
Both converters run in your browser. The file is decoded on your own device and nothing is uploaded, so a passport photo never leaves your computer. Drop in one file or a whole batch; each one converts on the spot, and Download all packs them into one ZIP.
| Tool | Output | Pick it when |
|---|---|---|
| HEIC to JPG converter | JPG, lossy, quality slider (default 90) | The photo has to go into a form, an email, a website or a Windows PC without the add-ons. Smallest files that still open everywhere. |
| HEIC to PNG converter | PNG, lossless, no quality setting | You will edit the picture afterwards and do not want a second round of lossy compression. Much larger files. |
| Image compressor | Smaller JPG, PNG or WebP | The converted JPG is too big for an upload limit. Shrinks it by quality or dimensions. |
A sensible order for a form with a size limit: convert to JPG at quality 90, check the file size, and only if it is over the limit run it through the compressor. Starting from PNG almost always makes the file larger than the HEIC, not smaller.
Making the iPhone shoot JPG
If you send photos to Windows users or forms every week, change the camera so the problem does not come back. Apple's instructions: open Settings, tap Camera, tap Formats, then tap Most Compatible. From then on all new photos and videos use JPEG and H.264. To go back to the space-saving formats, choose High Efficiency on the same screen.
The setting exists only on iPhone and iPad models that can capture HEIF in the first place. It changes future photos only; everything already in the library stays HEIC, which is what the batch converter is for. And JPEG files take more room, so a phone that is already nearly full will fill faster.
Quality and size, with numbers
Apple does not publish a percentage, only the claim of better compression at the same visual quality. Nokia, which developed the format, did publish test results on its HEIF site: for the same objective picture quality, JPEG needed on average 139% higher bitrate than HEVC, which Nokia translates as 2.39 times the file size. Your own photos will vary, but the direction is always the same. Expect the JPG from the converter to be noticeably larger than the HEIC it came from, and a PNG larger still.
Quality works the other way round. The HEIC was already compressed once on the phone, and converting to JPG compresses it a second time. That is why the converter defaults to a quality of 90: the second loss stays too small to see. Lower it only when a size limit forces you to.
EXIF and privacy
HEIF files carry metadata just like JPGs. Nokia's notes list Exif, XMP and MPEG-7 as the metadata formats an image item can hold, and Exif is where the camera writes the date, the device model and, if location was on, the GPS coordinates of the spot where you pressed the shutter. A photo of your living room can carry your home address inside it.
Converting here drops that block: the JPG and PNG the converters produce contain only the picture. For a photo you keep in your own library that is a loss, because the date and location are useful there, so keep the original. For a photo you post or send to a stranger it is a feature. To see exactly what a file reveals before you share it, or to strip the metadata from a photo without converting it, the EXIF viewer and remover shows every tag and saves a clean copy, again without uploading anything.
Frequently asked questions
Is HEIC the same as HEIF?
HEIF is the file format, a container defined in ISO/IEC 23008-12. HEIC is the name of the variant in which the picture inside is compressed with HEVC, and .heic is the file extension that goes with it. Every HEIC file is a HEIF file; the reverse is not always true.
Does converting a HEIC photo to JPG lose quality?
A little, because JPG is a lossy format and the photo gets compressed a second time. At the converter's default quality of 90 the difference is not something you would notice on a screen. Choose PNG if you plan to edit the picture further and want no additional loss, and accept the larger file.
Why is the JPG bigger than the HEIC it came from?
Because HEVC compresses more efficiently than JPEG. Apple says HEIF offers better compression than JPEG at the same visual quality, and Nokia's HEIF project measured JPEG needing on average 139% more data for the same objective quality in its tests. Run the JPG through the image compressor afterwards if the size matters.
Can I open HEIC on Windows without converting?
Yes, with two add-ons from the Microsoft Store. Microsoft's help page for the Photos app lists the HEIF Image Extensions as free and the HEVC Video Extensions at $0.99, and says you need both even if you only want to look at photos. Converting is the way around that if you cannot install apps on the PC, or if the file has to go into a form that only takes JPG.
Is the location in my photo kept after converting?
Not by the converters here. The JPG or PNG they produce contains only the picture, without the EXIF block that holds the GPS position, the date and the camera model. If you want to see what a photo carries before you share it, or strip the metadata from a file you are not converting, use the EXIF viewer and remover.