How to Convert iPhone HEIC Photos to JPG (Windows, Mac, Web)

iPhones save photos as HEIC by default because it takes roughly half the space of JPG at similar quality. But many websites, forms and Windows apps do not accept HEIC. The quickest fixes are: share or export the photo from the iPhone as JPG, open it on a Mac in Preview and export as JPEG, or change the iPhone camera setting to "Most Compatible" so future photos are saved as JPG. In a browser that can open HEIC, such as Safari, ToolMany's Image Converter can also convert it to JPG without uploading it.

What is HEIC?

HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) is Apple's name for photos stored in the HEIF format, compressed with the same technology as modern HEVC video. Apple adopted it in 2017 (iOS 11). Its advantages:

• smaller files, often around half the size of an equivalent JPEG;
• support for features such as 16-bit colour, Live Photos and depth information.

Its disadvantage is compatibility: JPG works everywhere, HEIC does not. Upload forms for visas, exams and jobs often accept only JPG or PNG.

Option 1: Let the iPhone convert it for you

iPhones convert to JPG automatically in many situations:

• Sharing by email or messaging apps usually sends a JPG.
• Files app → Save to Files keeps the original format, but copying photos into the Files app and then sharing may convert depending on settings.
• Transferring to a computer: go to Settings → Photos → Transfer to Mac or PC and choose Automatic. When you copy photos by cable, the iPhone converts them to JPG for the computer.

Option 2: Change the camera setting for future photos

Go to Settings → Camera → Formats and choose Most Compatible. New photos will be saved as JPG (and videos as H.264). You lose some storage efficiency, so photos take more space, but every app and website will accept them.

This is the best option if you regularly upload photos to forms or use Windows.

Option 3: Convert on a Mac

macOS opens HEIC natively.

1. Open the photo in Preview.
2. Choose File → Export.
3. Set Format to JPEG, adjust the quality slider, and save.

For many photos, select them all in Finder, right-click and choose Quick Actions → Convert Image (on recent macOS versions), then pick JPEG.

Option 4: Convert on Windows

Recent versions of Windows can open HEIC if the HEIF Image Extensions (and sometimes HEVC Video Extensions) are installed from the Microsoft Store. Once installed:

1. Open the HEIC in the Photos app.
2. Use Save as (or the "..." menu) and choose JPG.

Paint can also open HEIC with the extensions installed, then File → Save as → JPEG. If you cannot install extensions, a work computer may block them; use one of the iPhone options instead.

Option 5: Convert in the browser

Browsers differ in which image formats they can open. Safari on Mac and iPhone can open HEIC; Chrome, Edge and Firefox on Windows generally cannot, at the time of writing.

1. Open ToolMany's Image Converter in a browser that supports HEIC, such as Safari.
2. Choose the HEIC photo.
3. Pick JPEG and convert.

If your browser cannot open HEIC, the converter tells you so ("This browser cannot open HEIC photos…") rather than failing silently. We fixed this in October 2026; earlier, the button simply kept spinning.

The conversion happens on your device; the photo is not uploaded. JPG conversion also re-encodes the image, which drops the photo's camera metadata, including any GPS location (see removing location data from photos).

After converting: size and dimensions

iPhone photos are large, typically 4032 × 3024 pixels. Once converted to JPG, the file can be several megabytes, often too big for an upload form.

• To meet a size limit such as "under 200 KB", use the Image Compressor. See how to compress an image to a specific KB size.
• To meet exact pixel dimensions, use the Image Resizer.
• To turn several photos into one PDF document, use Image to PDF.

Converting many HEIC photos at once

Converting dozens of photos one at a time is slow. A few approaches handle a whole batch:

• On a Mac, select all the photos in Finder and use Quick Actions → Convert Image, or open them together in Preview, select every thumbnail in the sidebar and use File → Export Selected Images with JPEG as the format.
• On an iPhone, the Shortcuts app has a Convert Image action. A two-step shortcut (select photos, convert to JPEG, save to Files) turns a batch into JPGs on the phone itself.
• On Windows, changing the iPhone's transfer setting to Automatic before copying by cable is usually simpler than converting files afterwards.

Whichever method you use, open one converted file before deleting anything, and keep the HEIC originals until you know the JPGs are fine.

Does converting HEIC to JPG lose quality?

Both formats are lossy, so converting from one to the other re-compresses the image. At a high JPEG quality setting (80–90%) the difference is not visible in normal viewing. Convert from the original HEIC rather than from an already-compressed copy, and keep the HEIC originals if you want the best quality for printing or editing later.

HEIC vs JPG vs PNG vs WebP

For more detail, see WebP vs JPG vs PNG.