CodeKitHubWhat Is This Tool?
HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) is the format iPhones have used by default since iOS 11. It stores photos at about half the size of JPG at the same quality — great for your phone's storage, inconvenient everywhere else: Windows needs paid codecs, older software and many upload forms reject it outright.
This converter decodes HEIC directly in your browser using an open-source decoder (loaded on demand, ~2 MB once) and re-encodes to JPG. Because most HEIC files are personal photos, the no-upload design is the point: nothing leaves your device.
Why Use It?
- Your photos stay on your device — most HEIC converters upload them to a server; this one doesn't.
- Batch conversion for whole camera-roll transfers.
- Adjustable JPG quality (default 90% — visually identical, much smaller than expectations).
- Free, no watermark, no account, no file limits.
- Works on Windows, Mac, Android and Linux — anywhere with a modern browser.
How to Use
- Click the box or drag .heic files onto it (the decoder loads automatically on first use).
- Set the JPG quality if desired.
- Each photo appears with a preview and its converted size.
- Click Download next to each JPG.
Example
Input
IMG_4032.heic — 1.8 MB (iPhone photo)Output
IMG_4032.jpg — 2.6 MB, opens on any deviceJPG is larger than HEIC — normal, HEIC's efficiency is exactly why Apple adopted it.
Common use cases
- Transferring an entire iPhone camera roll to a Windows PC and finding none of the photos will open without a codec purchase.
- Uploading iPhone photos to a website, print service, or older application that specifically rejects the .heic extension.
- Sharing a photo with someone on Android or an older device that has no HEIC support at all.
- Archiving photos in a format guaranteed to remain openable decades from now, since JPG's universal support is a safer long-term bet than a comparatively newer format.
Why privacy matters more here than for most image tools
HEIC files are overwhelmingly personal photos straight from someone's phone — family pictures, screenshots of private conversations, photos of documents — which makes the upload-to-a-server model that most online converters use a meaningfully bigger privacy concern than it is for, say, converting a stock product photo. Many popular "free" HEIC converters make their money by processing images on their own servers, which means every photo passes through and is potentially retained by a third party you have no relationship with. Doing the conversion entirely inside the browser, as this tool does, means there is no server in the path at all — not "we delete it after processing," but structurally nothing to delete because nothing was ever received.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are my photos uploaded to a server?
No — and for this tool that's the headline feature. The HEIC decoder runs inside your browser; your photos never leave your device. Most competing converters upload your personal photos to their servers.
Why can't Windows open HEIC files?
Microsoft charges for the HEVC codec HEIC depends on, so it isn't preinstalled. Converting to JPG sidesteps the problem entirely — JPG opens on everything made in the last 25 years.
How do I stop my iPhone creating HEIC in the first place?
Settings → Camera → Formats → choose "Most Compatible" to shoot JPG directly. The trade-off: photos take roughly twice the storage. Or keep HEIC and convert only what you need to share.
Why is the first conversion slower?
The HEIC decoder (~2 MB) loads on first use — the page itself stays lightweight for everyone who's just reading. After that one-time load, conversions are fast, and the decoder stays cached.
Why is the JPG bigger than the HEIC?
HEIC compresses about 2× better than JPG — that's its entire purpose. A size increase when converting to JPG is expected; you're buying compatibility.
Does it handle Live Photos and bursts?
The still photo converts normally (the main image in the file). The motion part of a Live Photo is a separate video that JPG can't represent.