.heic — High Efficiency Image Container
Image image/heic
What a .heic file is
The format iPhones save photos in by default since iOS 11. It stores HEVC-compressed images at roughly half the size of an equivalent JPEG, and can hold multiple images, depth maps and Live Photo data in one file.
How to open it
macOS and iOS open it natively. Windows 11 needs the HEIF Image Extensions from the Microsoft Store. Most websites and older software will not accept it — convert to JPEG first.
Worth knowing
To stop your iPhone producing HEIC at all: Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible.
Converting it
We deliberately do not offer a browser-based HEIC converter. Chrome and Firefox cannot decode HEIC at all, so any such tool either uploads your photo to a server — which defeats the point of this site — or ships a megabyte of WebAssembly to do it locally. Neither is a good trade for a format your own device already converts for free:
- On iPhone: Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible makes the camera save JPEG from now on. For photos you already took, sharing them by email or AirDrop to a non-Apple device converts them automatically.
- On macOS: open in Preview, then File → Export and choose JPEG.
- On Windows 11: install the HEIF Image Extensions from the Microsoft Store, then open in Photos and Save as.
- On the command line:
heif-convert photo.heic photo.jpg, ormagick photo.heic photo.jpgwith a HEIF-enabled ImageMagick.
Other image formats
- .webp — WebP Image
- .avif — AV1 Image File Format
- .svg — Scalable Vector Graphics
- .psd — Photoshop Document
- .ai — Adobe Illustrator Artwork
- .raw — Camera Raw Image