What is HEIC, and how do you open it?
If you've copied photos off an iPhone and hit a wall of .heic files that won't open, you're not doing anything wrong — it's just Apple's photo format colliding with the rest of the world. Here's what HEIC is and how to deal with it.
Short answer
HEIC is the format iPhones save photos in since 2017. It's smaller than JPEG but barely supported outside Apple. To use the photo anywhere, convert it: HEIC to JPG for sharing, or HEIC to PNG for editing. Both run in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
What HEIC actually is
HEIC stands for High Efficiency Image Container. It's an image stored in the HEIF format using HEVC (H.265) compression — the same compression family as a lot of modern video. Apple switched the iPhone and iPad camera to HEIC by default in iOS 11 (2017) for one simple reason: it fits roughly the same image quality into about half the storage of a JPEG. On a phone full of photos, that adds up fast. The .heif extension you sometimes see is the same underlying format.
Why it won't open on Windows, Android, or the web
The catch is that HEVC decoding isn't built into most non-Apple software. Windows 10 and 11 will show a HEIC thumbnail but need Microsoft's paid HEVC Video Extensions to actually open the file — and even then many apps still refuse it. Plenty of older Android phones can't read HEIC at all, and a large share of websites and upload forms reject it. So a photo that looks fine on the iPhone becomes an unopenable file the moment it lands somewhere else.
The fix: convert it
Converting HEIC to a universal format solves it instantly. Two sensible targets:
- HEIC to JPG — best for viewing, sharing, email, and uploads. Stays small. This is what most people want.
- HEIC to PNG — best when you'll edit the image or need exact, lossless pixels and transparency. Larger files.
On ConvertBlink both run entirely in your browser via a WebAssembly (libheif) decoder, so they work the same on Windows, Mac, and Android with no codec to install — and your photos are never uploaded to a server, which matters for anything private.
Want your iPhone to stop making HEIC?
You can switch the camera back to JPEG: open Settings → Camera → Formats and choose Most Compatible. From then on, new photos are saved as JPEG. Note this only changes future photos — the HEIC files already in your library still need converting. Keeping "High Efficiency" on saves space, so it's a trade-off between storage and compatibility.
FAQ
What does HEIC stand for?
HEIC is the High Efficiency Image Container — Apple's name for an image stored in the HEIF format using HEVC (H.265) compression. Apple made it the default iPhone and iPad photo format in iOS 11 (2017) because it stores roughly the same image quality in about half the file size of JPEG.
Why won't my HEIC file open?
Because most non-Apple software can't decode HEVC out of the box. Windows shows HEIC thumbnails but needs Microsoft's paid HEVC Video Extensions to open the file, older Android phones can't read it, and many websites and editors reject it. Converting to JPG or PNG removes the problem entirely — those open everywhere.
How do I convert HEIC to JPG?
Use a HEIC to JPG converter. On ConvertBlink the conversion runs entirely in your browser using a WebAssembly decoder, so your photos are never uploaded to a server. Drop the .heic file in and download a JPG — works the same on Windows, Mac, Android, and iPhone.
Should I convert HEIC to JPG or PNG?
JPG for normal photos you want to view, share, or upload — it stays small. PNG when you need exact, lossless pixels or transparency, for example before editing the image in graphics software. PNG files are several times larger than the HEIC original.
How do I make my iPhone take JPG instead of HEIC?
Go to Settings > Camera > Formats and choose 'Most Compatible'. New photos will be saved as JPEG. This only affects photos taken after the change — existing HEIC files still need converting.
Is it safe to convert HEIC photos online?
It depends on the tool. Many converters upload your photo to their server. ConvertBlink does the entire conversion locally in your browser — the file never leaves your device — which matters for private photos, screenshots, or ID documents.
Does converting HEIC lose quality?
Converting to PNG is lossless (no quality loss from the conversion itself). Converting to JPG re-compresses the image slightly, but at high quality the difference is usually invisible. Neither can recover detail the camera already discarded when it first saved the HEIC.