iPhone HEIC photos: how to convert them to JPG

iPhones save photos as HEIC to save space. That is great on the phone, but many websites, Windows apps and forms still expect JPG. Here is what to do.

By 孤獨的時空旅人 · Updated 2026-09-30

What HEIC is and why the iPhone uses it

HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) stores the photo with HEVC compression. Since iOS 11, the iPhone camera uses it by default under Settings › Camera › Formats › High Efficiency. At similar quality a HEIC photo is usually about half the size of a JPG, which is why Apple chose it.

Where HEIC causes problems

Older versions of Windows cannot open HEIC without extra codecs, many upload forms (job applications, government sites, marketplaces) accept only JPG or PNG, and some printing services and older editing apps reject the file. If a site says “unsupported file” for an iPhone photo, HEIC is the most likely reason.

Convert many HEIC photos to JPG at once

Open HEIC to JPG, drop in one photo or a whole batch, choose standard or high quality and press Convert. Several files are packed into one ZIP. The conversion runs in your browser, so personal photos — IDs, receipts, family pictures — are never uploaded.

The output is a normal JPG that opens everywhere. Location and camera details (EXIF) are not copied into the JPG, which is also safer when you post photos online.

Make the iPhone save JPG in the future

If you always need JPG, change Settings › Camera › Formats to Most Compatible; new photos are then saved as JPG (files become larger). When you only send photos to a computer, Settings › Photos › Transfer to Mac or PC › Automatic lets iOS convert on the fly for many transfers.

After converting

Need a smaller file for email? Use Compress Image or Resize Image. Need everything in one document, such as scanned receipts? Combine the JPGs with JPG to PDF. For websites, WebP is smaller still — PNG to WebP also accepts JPG.

Tools used in this guide

HEIC to JPGConvert iPhone photos to JPGCompress ImageShrink JPG, PNG and WebP filesResize ImageChange width and heightJPG to PDFTurn photos and images into a PDF

Frequently asked questions

Does converting HEIC to JPG reduce quality?

JPG uses a different compression, so it is not bit-for-bit identical, but at the high-quality setting the difference is not visible for normal viewing. Files usually get larger, not smaller.

Are Live Photos converted?

Only the still image in the HEIC file is converted; the short video part of a Live Photo is a separate file.

Can I convert HEIC on Windows without installing anything?

Yes. The converter runs in the browser, so no codec or app is needed.

Are my photos uploaded?

No. They are converted on your device and never leave it.

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