You get one JPG per iPhone photo, a still image that Windows, print kiosks and upload forms read without add-ons.
To convert HEIC to JPG, add the HEIC photo, keep JPG as the output format and download the result. The JPG opens on Windows, in older apps and on upload forms, but it is compressed again with an older codec, so it is usually larger than the HEIC and holds one still frame only.
Transfers use HTTPS, and files converted on the free tier are deleted within 24 hours, so the result is not a long-term archive. Quality depends on the source file, so open the JPG file once before you share it.
HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container)
The still-image format iPhones have used by default since iOS 11. It wraps HEVC-compressed pictures in the HEIF container, usually smaller than a JPG of the same picture, and can also hold deeper colour, depth maps and image sequences.
JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)
The most widely readable photo format, standardised in 1992. Phones, browsers, operating systems, print kiosks and upload forms all accept it, at the cost of 8-bit colour, lossy compression and no room for depth or motion data.
A 3024 × 4032 photo saved as HEIC, then converted on indox.org
Windows opens HEIC only after the HEIF Image Extensions and HEVC Video Extensions have been added from the Store. Here the photo is converted on indox infrastructure, so nothing is installed on your PC, and one photo needs no account.
A set of holiday photos does not have to go through one picture at a time. Add several HEIC files together and you get a separate JPG for each one. You can watch the job on a progress bar and cancel it if the wrong pictures went in.
Once the conversion finishes, download the JPG or share it with a link, which is useful when the photo is meant for a relative whose laptop cannot open HEIC. If an upload form prefers PNG, convert the result again.
Drop the HEIC photos on the box or choose them from your device; photos in Dropbox, in Google Drive or at a URL can be imported from there. Keep the originals: they are smaller and still hold depth data.
Check that JPG is the output format on the converter, then start the conversion. A progress bar shows how far the job has got.
Save the JPG and open it once. If you rely on the capture date or GPS position, confirm those EXIF fields arrived, and expect a larger file than the HEIC.
You hand over a HEIC photo and take away a JPG holding the main still image in 8-bit colour, ready for Windows, older editors, print kiosks and upload forms. Depth maps, HDR gain data and Live Photo motion stay behind, because a JPG has no place for them. The photo travels over HTTPS, and free-tier files are deleted within 24 hours.
The upload box shows the live size limit before you add a file. Signing in raises it, and paid plans raise it further.
HEIC in, JPG out. Pick another output on the converter if you need a different format.
Files are encrypted in transit over HTTPS and processed on indox infrastructure.
Free-tier files are deleted automatically within 24 hours after the job finishes.
| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The JPG is bigger than the HEIC | JPEG compression is less efficient than HEIF | Keep the HEIC originals for storage and convert only the photos you need to share |
| Portrait blur can no longer be changed | The depth data stays in the HEIC; the JPG holds only the main picture | Edit the blur in the original HEIC first, then convert |
| A form wants PNG or a PDF | The JPG is not the format the form lists | Use HEIC to PNG instead, or turn the JPG into a PDF with JPG to PDF |
| The file shows today's date | The file system date is the day of conversion; the capture time is stored inside the photo | Look for the capture date in the photo's details, not in the file list |
| Compared on | HEIC | JPG |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | HEIF, ISO/IEC 23008-12, first published in 2017 | JPEG 1, created in 1992 |
| Compression | Better than JPEG, so the same picture takes less storage | Older and less efficient, so files are larger |
| Where it opens | Newer devices and software | Broadly compatible with other devices and operating systems |
| Several images | One file can hold single images, collections and sequences | A converted JPG holds one still image |
| Metadata | Exif, XMP and ICC colour profiles can be carried | Check the converted file for the fields you need |
| Lossless option | Lossy and lossless storage are both supported | Lossy |
Facts checked on October 15, 2026
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Windows does not ship with the decoder HEIC needs. The format relies on HEVC compression, which is patent-licensed, so Microsoft offers the HEIF Image Extensions and HEVC Video Extensions as separate Store downloads. Without both, Photos and File Explorer show an error or a blank thumbnail. A JPG copy opens on any Windows version with no add-ons.
Slightly, yes, although you will rarely see it. HEIC and JPG are both lossy, so the picture is decoded and then compressed again with a less efficient codec. At a normal viewing size the two look identical. Differences show up only when zooming in on fine texture, on smooth gradients, or after the JPG has been saved again several times.
For storage, HEIC is the better format: it keeps similar visual quality in less space and can record deeper colour and depth maps. For sharing, JPG wins because everything opens it. A sensible habit is to keep the HEIC originals on your phone or in a backup and make JPG copies only for the places that demand them.
Usually it can, because JPG stores the same EXIF fields HEIC does, including capture time, camera settings and GPS coordinates. Whether every field arrives depends on how the original was written. Note that the created date your computer shows will be the day of conversion; the capture date lives inside the EXIF data, not in the file system.
You get the single key frame and nothing else. A Live Photo is really two files, a HEIC still plus a short MOV clip with sound, linked together by the Photos app. Only the still goes into the JPG, since that format holds exactly one image. To keep the movement, export the Live Photo as a video from your iPhone instead.
Open Settings, then Camera, then Formats, and choose Most Compatible. From then on the camera saves JPG, at the cost of larger files. Photos already taken stay as HEIC and still need converting. When you import over USB, the Photos setting Keep Originals stops the iPhone from converting HEIF to JPEG for you.
Yes. Add the HEIC photo to the converter in your browser and download the JPG. Nothing is installed on the PC, and one photo needs no account.
Yes. Add several HEIC files together and you get a separate JPG for each one, with a progress bar you can cancel.
The photo travels over HTTPS and files on the free plan are deleted within 24 hours. Your original HEIC stays on your device.
Drop files here
Add several at once. Documents, images, video and audio.