How to Convert iPhone HEIC Photos to JPG on Windows, Android and for Portals

What HEIC is and why your iPhone uses it

HEIC is the file extension Apple uses for photos saved in the HEIF format (High Efficiency Image File Format). iPhones save photos this way by default on supported models because HEIF typically stores a photo of similar visual quality in a smaller file than a traditional JPEG. That saves storage on the phone and in cloud backups, and the format can also hold extras such as Live Photo data and depth information.

The catch is compatibility. JPEG has been the universal photo format for decades, and almost every website, form, printer and older device understands it. HEIC support is much patchier. Many Indian application portals accept only JPG or JPEG, and some Windows PCs and older Android phones cannot open HEIC files without extra software. So when you send an iPhone photo to a PC or try to upload it to a form, you may see an unfamiliar icon, an error or a blank preview.

Convert HEIC to JPG in your browser

The HEIC converter turns iPhone photos into JPG or PNG directly in your browser. It works the same way on a Windows PC, a laptop, an Android phone or a Chromebook, because the conversion happens in the web page itself rather than on a server. Your photos are not uploaded, which matters for personal pictures and for photos of documents.

1. Get the files onto your device. Transfer them by USB cable, a cloud drive, email to yourself or a file-sharing app. Some transfer methods convert automatically; if your files still end in .heic, carry on.
2. Add the photos. Select one or many files in the converter.
3. Pick JPG for photos. JPG gives small files that work everywhere. Choose PNG only if you specifically need a lossless image.
4. Download. Save the converted files to a folder you can find easily.

TipConverting with no other changes keeps the full pixel size of the original, which for a modern iPhone means a large file. That is ideal for printing or archiving but too big for most forms. Resize afterwards if you are uploading.

Batch conversion for many photos

If you have a whole trip, an event or a set of document photos to convert, there is no need to do them one by one. Add them all to the HEIC converter at once. Because the work happens on your own device, very large batches depend on your device's memory and speed. On an older phone or a busy PC, converting in groups of a few dozen at a time is smoother than adding hundreds together.

After converting, if you need smaller files for sharing or a website, the Batch image compressor can shrink many images in one go, with a choice of WebP, JPEG or PNG, a quality setting and an optional target size in KB per image.

HEIC photos for online application forms

Exam, job and government portals usually ask for JPG or JPEG photos and signatures within a strict KB range, and often at specific pixel dimensions. A raw iPhone photo, even after converting to JPG, is far larger than those limits. The quickest route is:

1. Convert the HEIC file to JPG with the HEIC converter.
2. Open the JPG in the Photo and signature size optimizer.
3. Crop to your face or signature, enter the width, height and target KB from your notification, and run it.
4. Check the result and upload.

For the full method, including how KB, pixels, centimetres and DPI relate, see our guides to reducing a photo to 20 KB or 50 KB and resizing a signature for online forms.

Watch outRenaming a file from photo.heic to photo.jpg does not convert it. The contents are still HEIC, and a portal may reject it or show a broken image. Always convert properly.

Stop your iPhone saving HEIC in future

If you regularly need JPG files, you can tell the iPhone camera to save in the more widely supported format. On most recent iOS versions the setting is found here:

1. Open Settings on your iPhone.
2. Tap Camera, then Formats.
3. Choose Most Compatible instead of High Efficiency.

From then on, new photos are saved as JPG. Photos you have already taken stay as HEIC, so you will still need to convert those. Bear in mind that Most Compatible photos usually take more storage space, and on some models certain camera features may require High Efficiency to be selected. Menu names can differ slightly between iOS versions.

TipYou can keep High Efficiency on for everyday photos and simply convert the few you need for forms. That way you get the storage benefit most of the time.

Opening HEIC directly on Windows and Android

Windows can display HEIC photos in its Photos app once the relevant HEIF and HEVC codec extensions from Microsoft are installed, and some Windows installations already include them. Many recent Android phones can view HEIC in their gallery app too. However, being able to view a file is not the same as every program or website accepting it. If you need to upload, attach or edit the photo in older software, converting to JPG remains the reliable option.

If you need to turn converted photos into a PDF, for example photos of certificates, use Images to PDF or read our guide on converting JPG to PDF.

Remove location data before sharing

iPhone photos often include EXIF metadata such as the date, camera details and, if location services were on for the camera, the GPS coordinates where the photo was taken. That information may survive conversion. Before sharing photos publicly or with strangers, run them through the EXIF and location cleaner, which strips this data in your browser.