How to convert HEIC to JPG on iPhone, Mac or Windows
Four ways to turn iPhone HEIC photos into JPGs: in any browser, with a Mac's Finder or Preview, with Windows Photos or Paint, or on the iPhone itself.
Updated
Since iOS 11, iPhones save photos as HEIC whenever the camera is set to High Efficiency, which is the default. A HEIC photo takes about half the space of the same photo as a JPG, but Windows without an extra codec, many upload forms and older apps can't open it. These are the ways to get JPGs, and when each one suits.
| You have | Quickest way |
|---|---|
| Any computer or phone, nothing to install | Convert in the browser |
| A Mac | Finder's Convert Image, or Preview |
| Windows with the HEIF and HEVC extensions | Photos or Paint, one photo at a time |
| Photos still on the iPhone | Change how the iPhone saves or transfers them |
In any browser: Windows, Mac, Chromebook or phone
- Open the HEIC to JPG converter in Edge, Chrome, Firefox or Safari.
- Choose or drop up to 30 HEIC photos. Each one is converted on your device; nothing is uploaded.
- Download the JPGs one by one, or all of them together as a ZIP.
By default the JPGs carry no hidden details: no location, date or camera. If you want photo apps to keep sorting them by when they were taken, tick "Keep the date taken and camera details" first; the location is still never copied. Safari opens HEIC by itself, and other browsers load a small HEIC decoder from the site once.
On a Mac
- Finder, several at once (macOS Monterey or later): select the photos, Control-click them, choose Quick Actions, then Convert Image. Pick JPEG as the format and Actual Size to keep every pixel. The JPGs are saved next to the originals.
- Preview: open the photo, choose File, then Export, set the format to JPEG, set the quality, and save.
- Photos app: select the photos, choose File, then Export, then Export Photos, and set the photo kind to JPEG.
Copies made on a Mac usually keep the photo's location and camera details. Before you post them publicly, check and remove those with remove EXIF data and location.
On Windows
Windows 10 and 11 open HEIC photos only once two extensions from the Microsoft Store are installed: HEIF Image Extensions, which is free, and HEVC Video Extensions, which comes with some PCs and otherwise costs a small fee. With both installed:
- Paint: open the photo, choose File, then Save as, then JPEG picture.
- Photos: open the photo, open the menu with the three dots, choose Save as, and pick JPG as the file type.
Both convert one photo at a time. For a folder of photos, or on a PC where you can't install extensions, the browser converter above is quicker.
On the iPhone itself
- Save new photos as JPG: in Settings, open Camera, then Formats, and choose Most Compatible. New photos then take about twice the space, and photos you already took stay HEIC.
- Get JPGs when copying to a computer by cable: in Settings, open Photos, and under Transfer to Mac or PC choose Automatic. The iPhone then hands the computer JPGs; Keep Originals hands it the HEIC files.
What changes when you convert
- The JPG is usually about twice the size of the HEIC file, because HEIC compresses photos better. At a high quality setting the photo looks the same.
- A Live Photo's movement is a separate video and isn't part of the JPG. The depth data behind Portrait effects and the extra HDR brightness are usually left out too.
- Keep the HEIC originals until you have checked the JPGs: converting back doesn't restore what was left out.
Tools in this guide
They run in your browser: nothing you open in them is uploaded, and they are free with no sign-up.
HEIC to JPG converter
Turn iPhone HEIC photos into JPGs that open everywhere, up to 30 at once, and keep the date taken if you want. Nothing is uploaded.
Remove EXIF data and location from photos
See and remove the hidden GPS location, camera details and dates in photos, iPhone HEIC too. Nothing is uploaded, and JPEG, PNG and WebP aren't re-compressed.