How to open HEIC photos on Windows

Since iOS 11, iPhones save photos as HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container). The format is excellent — half the size of JPG at the same quality — but Windows 10 and 11 only open it after you buy Microsoft's HEVC codec from the Store, and most websites and apps reject it outright.

Convert to JPG in the browser

1. Open HEIC to JPG and drop all the photos at once — dozens are fine.
2. Leave quality at 85%. It is visually identical to the original for photos.
3. Download each JPG or grab everything as a ZIP.

Nothing is uploaded: the decoder (libheif) runs inside your browser, so it works offline and with private photos.

Stop the iPhone from producing HEIC

If you constantly exchange photos with Windows users, switch the camera format: Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible. New photos will be JPG. Existing ones still need converting.

Sending without converting

When you share from the Photos app by email or AirDrop to a Mac, iOS converts automatically. Copying files over USB or from iCloud Drive does not — that is where the .HEIC files come from.

After converting

JPGs are bigger than HEIC. If you need them for a website or a form with a size limit, run them through Compress JPG or Resize image next; both accept many files at once.