Why your photos are HEIC
From iPhone 7 and iOS 11 on, iPhones capture photos in HEIF with the camera’s High Efficiency format (the files end in .heic). Apple's explanation: HEIF compresses better than JPEG, so photos use less space at the same visual quality. The catch is compatibility — plenty of upload forms, older software and other devices still expect JPG.
1. Take JPGs from now on (free, built in)
- Open Settings, then tap Camera.
- Tap Formats, then tap Most Compatible.
New photos are then saved as JPEG (and videos as H.264). It doesn't change photos you already have, and the files are larger; to go back, choose High Efficiency.
2. Convert a photo you already have (free, built in)
- Preview app: on iOS versions that include Preview, open the image, tap the menu next to the file name, tap Export, choose JPEG, set the Size slider and save.
- Files app: recent iOS versions also offer a Convert Image quick action when you touch and hold an image in Files. Apple's iPhone guide doesn't document it, so the menu may differ on your version.
- Sharing: Apple notes that when you send a photo by AirDrop, Messages or email to a device that can't open HEIF, it may be sent as JPEG automatically. That depends on the receiver, so don't rely on it for an upload form.
Free, in Safari: our web tool
Convert to JPG runs in your browser and never uploads the photo. Safari on the iPhone, iPad and Mac can open HEIC, so it converts HEIC there; other browsers can't open HEIC today, and the page says so. If the result also has to be under a size limit, use compress to KB instead — it saves a JPG too.
Doing it with Oxid Photos
Oxid Photos (not released yet) reads HEIC with iOS's own decoder and converts to JPG, PNG, WebP or HEIC. Choose Convert, pick up to 10 photos from your library (free), choose JPG and a quality, and each result shows its new size and dimensions; save them to Photos or share them, for example to Files. It runs on your iPhone, with nothing uploaded. It is free; Pro ($2.99 once) removes the 10-photo limit. About Oxid Photos.
Related: compress a photo to 50 KB on iPhone.
Sources
The iPhone steps on this page were checked on 13 October 2026 against Apple's own support pages. Menu names can move between iOS versions; if yours differs, Apple's page for your version is the one to follow.
- Using HEIF or HEVC media on Apple devices — Apple Support
- Export or compress PDFs and images in Preview on iPhone — Apple Support