Why will nothing open my HEIC files?

HEIC is Apple's default photo format and it uses HEVC compression, which carries patent licensing that many programs never took on. Windows can open them with a paid extension; a lot of older software simply cannot. Converting to JPG or PNG sidesteps all of it.

Are my photos uploaded?

No. The decoder is libheif compiled to WebAssembly and it runs inside your browser tab. Your files are never uploaded, which is why there is no size limit and no waiting.

Will the JPG be smaller than the HEIC?

Almost never — expect it to be larger, often by half again. HEIC compresses better than JPG does, which is why Apple adopted it. PNG is larger still, six to nine times the HEIC, because nothing is thrown away. You are converting for compatibility, not for size.

Should I choose JPG or PNG?

JPG unless you have a reason not to: it is a fraction of the size and everything opens it. Choose PNG when the photo is going to be edited and saved again, or when it has to match the decoder output exactly — PNG is lossless, so it adds no compression artefacts of its own. Measured on a 2 MB iPhone photo: about 3 MB as a JPG, about 12 MB as a PNG.

Does converting lose quality?

Some, unavoidably: HEIC is 10-bit and a JPG is 8-bit, and the image is re-encoded. For a photo you are going to post or print, the difference is invisible. PNG removes half of that: it is lossless, so nothing is lost beyond the step from 10 bits to 8. If you plan to grade or heavily edit it, choose EXR or DNG instead — those keep the full range.

What model does this use?

None. There is no machine learning here at all. It is libheif and libde265 — the reference open-source HEIF decoder — reading the file and handing back pixels. The only choices being made are colour ones, and they are described above.

Is the DNG a raw file?

Not in the sense of raw sensor data. Your camera already demosaiced and processed the image before writing the HEIC; nothing can put that back. What the DNG gives you is a 16-bit linear container that Lightroom and Camera Raw treat as an editable negative, with far more grading latitude than an 8-bit JPG.

How many can I do at once?

As many as you can drop. They convert one at a time on purpose — a 60-megapixel photo needs a couple of hundred megabytes while it is being decoded, and running several at once is how a browser tab runs out of memory and dies partway through.

What if one file fails?

The rest carry on. Any file that cannot be read is marked in the list with the reason, and the others still convert — one bad photo out of two hundred should not cost you the other hundred and ninety-nine.

Convert HEIC photos to something that opens

iPhones and most Android cameras save photos as HEIC, and a lot of software still will not open one. Drop a folder here and get JPGs or PNGs back — converted in your browser, so the photos never leave your computer.

Your photos
Drop your HEIC photos here
HEICHEIFHIF
Your files are never uploaded.
Drop a whole folder if you like — they convert one at a time so a large photo cannot run your browser out of memory.
What you want back
Your files

How to convert HEIC files

Drop your photos in

One or five hundred. They are read in the browser, not sent anywhere.
Pick what you need back

JPG for almost everything. PNG when the file must not be re-compressed. PDF to email or print. EXR or DNG if you are going to grade them.
Save them

One at a time, or everything in a zip. Each file keeps the name it arrived with.

What makes this one different

Your photos stay on your computer

The decoder runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, so there is no queue, no account and no limit on how many you convert.

The camera data comes with them

Shutter, aperture, ISO, lens, date and location are carried into the new file. A converter should not quietly decide which of your metadata deserves to survive — and if you would rather it did not come along, one switch removes it.

PNG when nothing may be re-compressed

JPG discards a little more detail every time a file is saved. PNG discards none, so a photo you are going to crop, edit and save again does not soften with each round. It costs six to nine times the size of the HEIC.

Photos come out the right way up

An iPhone records its rotation twice, once in the file structure and once in the EXIF. Copying both is how converters produce photos lying on their side. This one bakes the rotation into the pixels and writes the tag as upright.

Wide-gamut colour survives

iPhones shoot in Display P3. The colour profile is read out of the HEIC and attached to the file you get back, so reds stay red instead of going orange.

HDR photos keep their highlights

A Canon or a recent phone can record several stops brighter than a JPG holds. Rather than clipping that to white, the bright end is rolled off so cloud and sunlight keep their shape.

Formats for actually working with

EXR in half-float linear with the camera metadata in the header, or 16-bit DNG for Lightroom. No tone curve, no gamut conversion, nothing normalised away.

Questions about HEIC

Why will nothing open my HEIC files?: HEIC is Apple's default photo format and it uses HEVC compression, which carries patent licensing that many programs never took on. Windows can open them with a paid extension; a lot of older software simply cannot. Converting to JPG or PNG sidesteps all of it.
Are my photos uploaded?: No. The decoder is libheif compiled to WebAssembly and it runs inside your browser tab. Your files are never uploaded, which is why there is no size limit and no waiting.
Will the JPG be smaller than the HEIC?: Almost never — expect it to be larger, often by half again. HEIC compresses better than JPG does, which is why Apple adopted it. PNG is larger still, six to nine times the HEIC, because nothing is thrown away. You are converting for compatibility, not for size.
Should I choose JPG or PNG?: JPG unless you have a reason not to: it is a fraction of the size and everything opens it. Choose PNG when the photo is going to be edited and saved again, or when it has to match the decoder output exactly — PNG is lossless, so it adds no compression artefacts of its own. Measured on a 2 MB iPhone photo: about 3 MB as a JPG, about 12 MB as a PNG.
Does converting lose quality?: Some, unavoidably: HEIC is 10-bit and a JPG is 8-bit, and the image is re-encoded. For a photo you are going to post or print, the difference is invisible. PNG removes half of that: it is lossless, so nothing is lost beyond the step from 10 bits to 8. If you plan to grade or heavily edit it, choose EXR or DNG instead — those keep the full range.
What model does this use?: None. There is no machine learning here at all. It is libheif and libde265 — the reference open-source HEIF decoder — reading the file and handing back pixels. The only choices being made are colour ones, and they are described above.
Is the DNG a raw file?: Not in the sense of raw sensor data. Your camera already demosaiced and processed the image before writing the HEIC; nothing can put that back. What the DNG gives you is a 16-bit linear container that Lightroom and Camera Raw treat as an editable negative, with far more grading latitude than an 8-bit JPG.
How many can I do at once?: As many as you can drop. They convert one at a time on purpose — a 60-megapixel photo needs a couple of hundred megabytes while it is being decoded, and running several at once is how a browser tab runs out of memory and dies partway through.
What if one file fails?: The rest carry on. Any file that cannot be read is marked in the list with the reason, and the others still convert — one bad photo out of two hundred should not cost you the other hundred and ninety-nine.

New to this format? What HEIC is, why Windows will not open it, and why converting makes the file bigger. Converting so you can post it? Remove the metadata first — this tool keeps your location and camera in the file, deliberately, and that one takes it out. Or read what your photos reveal about you. Need the picture smaller rather than more compatible? The upscaler goes the other way, and background removal is the usual next step for a product shot.

Your photos

What you want back

Your files