If you've ever transferred photos from an iPhone to a Windows PC, you've probably met the HEIC problem. Your pictures arrive as .heic files, and Windows Photos just stares at them blankly. Try to upload one to an older website or a messaging app, and you'll get a polite "file format not supported." So how do you convert HEIC to JPG without uploading your personal photos to a random server?
Why HEIC exists (and why it annoys you)
HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) is Apple's default photo format since iOS 11. It stores higher-quality images in roughly half the file size of JPEG — great for your phone's storage. The problem is compatibility: Windows 10 and 11 can't open HEIC out of the box (you need a paid codec from the Microsoft Store), older Android phones choke on it, and most web platforms still expect JPEG or PNG.
The universal fix is converting HEIC to JPG. JPEG works on every device made in the last 25 years.
Tip: let your iPhone do the conversion automatically
Before we talk tools, check one iPhone setting. Go to Settings → Photos, and under "Transfer to Mac or PC", select Automatic. With this enabled, iOS converts HEIC photos to JPG automatically when you copy them to a computer via USB. It only works for wired transfers, but it solves the problem for many people with zero extra software.
For photos sent via AirDrop, email, or already sitting on your PC as .heic files, you'll need a converter.
Option 1: Windows Photos / built-in tools
With the HEIF codec installed from the Microsoft Store, you can open HEIC in Photos and save a copy as JPEG. The codec costs a small fee in some regions, and the process is one file at a time — fine in a pinch, painful for a vacation's worth of photos.
Option 2: Online converters — and the privacy catch
Free online HEIC-to-JPG converters are everywhere, and they do work. But think about what you're uploading: family photos, vacation memories, screenshots with personal details. With most online converters, your images are uploaded to someone else's server, converted there, and hopefully deleted afterward. "Hopefully" is doing a lot of heavy lifting. For anything you'd rather keep private, uploading is a risk you don't need to take.
Option 3: Convert locally in the browser
The ideal setup is a converter that runs entirely on your own device: no uploads, no account, no waiting for a server. FileOnTap is a free tool that converts images 100% locally in your browser — your photos never leave your computer, tablet, or phone. It runs on any device with a modern browser, so the same workflow works on your Windows laptop, your old Android phone, or a borrowed Chromebook.
Because everything happens client-side, there are no queues, no file-size games for the conversion itself, and no privacy policy to squint at. You can even use it offline-ish on a plane once the page has loaded. Batch conversion is supported too, so converting a whole folder of HEIC photos to JPG takes seconds, not an afternoon of clicking.
The 60-second workflow
- Open FileOnTap in any browser.
- Drag in your
.heicphotos (or select them from your phone). - Choose JPG as the output format.
- Download the converted files — done, and nothing was ever uploaded.
Quick recap
- Wired iPhone transfers: enable Automatic under Settings → Photos so iOS converts for you.
- A handful of files: the Windows Photos app works if you have the HEIF codec.
- Private or many photos: convert locally in your browser so your images never touch a server.
HEIC is a genuinely good format — the problem was never the format itself, just the compatibility gap. Convert locally and that gap disappears.
Disclosure: I'm the developer of FileOnTap.
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