How to Convert HEIC to JPG Without Uploading Your Photos

Your iPhone takes a beautiful photo. You try to upload it somewhere — and the site rejects the .heic file. Here is what's going on and how to fix it without handing your photos to some random server.

What is HEIC?

HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) is Apple's default photo format since iOS 11. It stores images using the HEVC codec, producing files about half the size of JPG at the same quality. That's great for your phone's storage. It's annoying for everything else, because most non-Apple software still doesn't read it.

The fastest way to convert

On a Mac, you can just open the photo in Preview and File → Export → JPEG. On iOS, you can change the default capture format under Settings → Camera → Formats → "Most Compatible." But for files you already have, the fastest path is a browser-based converter like Pixelmint.

Drag your .heic file onto the page, hit Download. Total time: about two seconds.

Why not upload to a converter website?

Most online HEIC-to-JPG converters upload your photo to their server, run ImageMagick on it, and either email you a link or show ads on the result page. That photo now exists on their disk indefinitely. For photos of your kids, your ID, or your patio — that's not great.

A browser-based converter does exactly the same conversion locally. You can verify this by opening DevTools → Network and watching: zero requests during conversion.

What about Safari versus Chrome?

Safari decodes HEIC natively. Chrome and Firefox don't, so converters there rely on WASM HEIC decoders that work, but are slower and occasionally choke on weird HEIC variants from older phones. If a converter fails on your file, try opening it in the Photos app on Mac first and exporting to PNG, then convert that PNG.

Batch conversion

If you have a folder of HEIC files, drop them all on the converter at once. Each one converts in parallel, then you can download them individually or as a single ZIP.