HEIC is the format iPhones use for photos by default. It keeps good quality at about half the size of a JPG, but plenty of Windows programs, older apps and websites won't open it. Converting to JPG fixes that.
On the iPhone itself
- Change the format for new photos: Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible. New photos are saved as JPG from then on.
- Let the iPhone convert when it sends: Settings → Photos → Transfer to Mac or PC → Automatic. Photos copied to a computer are converted to JPG.
Worth knowing: iPhones also convert automatically in some situations, such as attaching photos to an email. That's convenient, but it means the file you receive isn't always the file that was taken. If you ever need to check a photo's history, ask for the original.
On Windows or Mac
- Windows: the Photos app needs two add-ons from the Microsoft Store to open iPhone photos: HEIF Image Extensions (free) and HEVC Video Extensions (usually a small charge). Then use Save as to make a JPG. Converting online avoids installing either.
- Mac: open the photo in Preview → File → Export → Format: JPEG.
Online, with your location removed
Upload the HEIC files to snapWONDERS Convert, choose JPG, and switch on Strip Metadata. You get JPGs that open everywhere, without the GPS coordinates, camera details and timestamps the originals carried. It's free, needs no account, and handles many files at once.
A worked example: before and after
We took a photo from an iPhone 15 Pro Max, saved as HEIC, converted it to JPG with Strip Metadata on, and checked both files.
Before. The HEIC names the camera, records when the photo was taken, and carries Apple's private maker notes and a small preview image inside the file. This one had no location saved; if yours does, it shows here too:
After. The converted JPG opens everywhere, and the camera, the date and time, the maker notes and the preview are gone:
The Exposure grade went from B to A. What's left under fingerprinting is the converter's own JPEG settings, which a huge number of other files share. More on that in how to remove a photo's fingerprint.
What you lose when you convert
JPG files are larger than HEIC for the same quality, and HEIC features such as depth information and Live Photo motion don't carry over. Keep the HEIC originals if those matter to you, and convert copies for sharing.
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