My iPhone photos arrive as HEIC and recipients can't open them.

In Settings > Camera > Formats, switch to "Most Compatible" to make new photos save as JPEG. To convert existing HEIC files, use Photos.app's Export with Format: JPEG.

.heic

Low risk

HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container)

The default image format on iPhone cameras. Roughly half the size of JPEG at similar quality, but can be awkward to open outside of Apple platforms.

MIME types

image/heic
image/heif

Aliases

.heif

What opens this file

Photos.app
Preview (macOS)
Windows Photos (with HEIF extension)
CopyTrans HEIC
iMazing HEIC Converter

How to open by OS

Windows

Install the free "HEIF Image Extensions" and the paid "HEVC Video Extensions" from Microsoft Store to open HEIC in Photos.

Mac

Natively supported — open and export via Preview.

Linux

Use libheif with ImageMagick, or a GIMP plug-in.

Ios

Native viewing and editing.

Android

Native on Android 10+. Older versions need a third-party viewer.

Use it in your browser

Convert HEIC → JPG ↗
Turn iPhone HEIC photos into JPG in the browser. Files are never uploaded.
ImageMint — operated by Netwiz LLC (same company as FileHint)
Convert HEIC → PNG ↗
Choose PNG when transparency or color fidelity matters.
ImageMint — operated by Netwiz LLC (same company as FileHint)
Inspect HEIC metadata ↗
View EXIF / GPS / XMP tags in one click — before sharing.
ImageMint — operated by Netwiz LLC (same company as FileHint)

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Safety notes

HEIC uses HEVC compression, which still has patent licensing implications for commercial redistribution — keep a JPEG fallback for external assets.

Common mistakes

Renaming .heic to .jpg will not make it openable — the bytes are still HEIC. Use a converter, or re-export from Photos.app.
HEIC can store multiple images in one file (e.g., burst shots). Convert to JPEG or WebP before posting to the web to cover older browsers.

FAQ

My iPhone photos arrive as HEIC and recipients can't open them.: In Settings > Camera > Formats, switch to "Most Compatible" to make new photos save as JPEG. To convert existing HEIC files, use Photos.app's Export with Format: JPEG.