Why iPhone photos are HEIC
Since iOS 11, iPhones save photos as HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) by default. It stores roughly the same quality as JPEG in about half the space, which is great on the phone and awkward everywhere else — plenty of Windows software, older photo editors, web upload forms and printing services still do not accept it.
Want the iPhone to stop making HEICs? On the phone, go to Settings → Camera → Formats and choose Most Compatible. New photos will be saved as JPEG. Existing photos stay HEIC — convert those here.
Your photos stay on your device
Most HEIC converters upload your photos to a server. Personal photos routinely carry GPS coordinates and faces, so that is a genuine privacy cost for a format conversion. This tool decodes HEIC with a WebAssembly build of libheif directly in your browser — nothing is uploaded, and you can confirm it by watching the Network tab while converting.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I convert HEIC to PNG?
Drop the HEIC files onto this page. They are decoded and re-encoded as lossless PNG entirely inside your browser, then you download the results. No signup, no watermark, no upload.
Should I choose PNG or JPG?
JPG for photographs — it is far smaller and the quality loss is invisible. PNG when you need a lossless copy, for example before editing, or when software specifically requires PNG. Expect PNG files to be several times larger than the original HEIC.
Will my photos come out sideways?
No. Rotation for HEIC is stored in the file container itself and applied while the image decodes, so portrait photos come out upright. (HEICs also carry a separate EXIF orientation tag, but applying that as well would rotate the photo twice — a common bug in other converters.)
Are my photos uploaded to a server?
No. Decoding uses a WebAssembly build of libheif running in your browser, so personal photos — which often carry GPS data and faces — never leave your device.
Checking images at scale?
Bulk-audit hundreds of URLs at once or hit a dimensions API from your own code.
Related tools
- HEIC to JPG converter — much smaller files; the right choice for most photos.
- Image compressor — shrink the converted files further.
- Image metadata & EXIF viewer — check what your photos carry.