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Need help?HEIC to HEIC — What a Re-encode Costs an iPhone Photo
HEIC is a HEIF container (ISO/IEC 23008-12) holding HEVC-coded still images. Apple made it the default capture format with iOS 11 in September 2017, and that decision is why most HEIC files in the world are iPhone photos — which matters, because an iPhone photo is rarely just one image. It can carry a Portrait-mode depth map, an HDR gain map, a burst of frames, or a thumbnail hierarchy, all as separate items inside the same file.
A same-format conversion writes one image. Everything else in the container is left behind. Combine that with the fact that our servers always decode and re-encode — there is no copy-through path — and a HEIC-to-HEIC pass is a bigger event than the words suggest.
It is still the right tool for three jobs: forcing a batch of photos to one set of dimensions, meeting a hard file-size limit, and re-encoding a HEIC that some piece of software chokes on into a cleanly-written one. Free, no sign-up, no watermark; uploads travel over an encrypted connection and are deleted automatically after a few hours.
How to Re-encode a HEIC Image
- Upload Your HEIC Files: Drag and drop, or click "+ Add Files". Photos copied from an iPhone, exported from Apple Photos, or pulled off an iCloud download all work. Batch uploads share one set of settings.
- Choose a Quality Preset or a Size Target: Image Compression opens on Quality Preset at "Very High (Recommended)". Because HEIC sources are already compressed, this default is usually higher than whatever wrote your file — see the preset table below. Specific file size is the alternative when a limit is the actual constraint; it takes bytes, kilobytes or megabytes and has an Auto Scale toggle so dimensions can drop when quality reduction alone is not enough.
- Set the Dimensions: Image resolution starts on Keep original. Resolution Percentage scales by a share of the source, the Preset list is height-based from 4320p down to 144p plus a set of small icon steps that includes 256P, 192P, 180P, 128P, 64P, 48P, 32P, 24P and 16P, Width and Height each lock the aspect ratio, and Width x Height sets both exactly. On a 12-megapixel iPhone photo, halving the dimensions is far more effective than any quality change.
- Convert and Download: Click Convert and take the files individually or as a ZIP. There is no watermark and no cap on how many you queue.
iPhone Photo Features and Whether They Survive
| Feature | Where it lives | Survives a same-format pass? |
|---|---|---|
| The main photograph | Primary image item | Yes — re-encoded, not copied |
| EXIF: camera, lens, exposure, date | Metadata block | Yes |
| GPS coordinates | Metadata block | Yes — consider stripping before sharing publicly |
| Transparency (alpha) | Auxiliary alpha item | Preserved where the source carries one |
| Portrait-mode depth map | Auxiliary image item | No. Only the primary image is written, so the depth data does not reach the output |
| HDR gain map | Auxiliary image item | No, for the same reason |
| Burst or image sequence | Multiple image items | No. One image comes out |
| Live Photo motion | A separate .mov file alongside the HEIC |
Not applicable — it was never inside the file you uploaded |
| Apple Photos edit history | Sidecar data in the photo library | Not applicable — it does not travel with an exported file |
If any of those extras matter, keep the original. A converted copy is a photograph, not a Portrait-mode asset.
Quality Presets and What They Mean Here
| Preset | Encoder quality value | Sensible use on a HEIC source |
|---|---|---|
| Highest | 100 | Avoid. On an already-compressed source this asks the encoder to reproduce the previous encode's noise exactly, at enormous cost in bytes and no visible gain |
| Very High (default) | 95 | Safe if you are re-encoding for reasons other than size. Expect the file to grow |
| High | 90 | A reasonable compromise when you also resize |
| Medium | 80 | The first preset likely to actually reduce a typical iPhone HEIC |
| Low | 70 | Noticeable softening on fine detail |
| Very Low | 60 | For thumbnails and previews |
| Lowest | 50 | Visible artefacts |
The pattern to internalise: the default is set for converting into HEIC from something less compressed, not for round-tripping a file that is already HEIC. If your goal is a smaller file, go to Medium or below, use Specific file size, or use Compress HEIC, which opens on a "Target file size (%)" slider that this converter hides.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did my HEIC get bigger instead of smaller?
Because the default preset is quality 95, and an iPhone writes HEIC well below that — that efficiency is the whole reason Apple adopted the format. Re-encoding at 95 asks for a faithful reproduction of an already-lossy image, which takes more bytes than the original needed. Choose Medium (80) or lower, or set an explicit file size.
Does HEIC to HEIC lose quality?
Yes. There is no stream-copy path on our servers; the image is decoded and re-encoded on every job. HEVC still-image coding is lossy, so a round trip stacks a second generation of loss on the first. Whenever the original is still on your phone or in your library, re-export from there rather than converting a HEIC you already have.
Will my Portrait-mode blur or depth data survive?
No. Portrait mode stores a depth map as a separate item inside the HEIF container, and this conversion writes only the primary image. The blurred rendering you see in Photos is produced from that depth data, so a converted copy is a flat photograph — you cannot go back and adjust the aperture. Keep the original if you might want to re-edit.
What about Live Photos?
A Live Photo is two files: a HEIC still and a .mov holding the three seconds of motion. Only the still exists in the file you upload here, so the motion is not lost in conversion — it simply was never part of it. To keep a Live Photo intact, copy both files together and leave them alone.
Can I open the converted HEIC on Windows?
On Windows 11 usually yes, with the caveat that HEIF reading and HEVC decoding are separate pieces. Windows 11 ships HEIF support, but the HEVC decoder is a separate Microsoft Store package on many builds and older Windows 10 installs need both. Without the HEVC piece you see file names and blank thumbnails, which looks like a broken file but is a missing codec. HEIC to JPG sidesteps the whole question.
Do any browsers display HEIC?
Safari renders HEIC inline; Chrome, Firefox and Edge do not, and will download the file rather than show it. That makes HEIC a poor choice for anything public-facing on the web. If you are publishing images, AVIF or WebP get you similar efficiency with support across every current browser — HEIC to AVIF makes that jump directly.
Does the converter keep EXIF and location data?
Yes. Camera make and model, lens, exposure settings, capture date and GPS coordinates all carry through a same-format pass. That is useful inside a photo library and a genuine privacy consideration for anything you are about to post, so strip the metadata with a dedicated tool first if the location matters.
My HEIC is a burst. Why did I get one photo back?
Because HEIF can hold several images in one file, but an image-to-image conversion writes one. The primary image is the one that survives; the rest of the burst is not carried into the output and no error is raised. Split the burst in Photos before exporting if you need every frame.
Why does HEIC have such patchy support compared with AVIF?
Licensing. HEIC's images are HEVC-coded, and HEVC is covered by patent pools that made browser and open-source adoption slow and expensive. AVIF uses AV1, which the Alliance for Open Media publishes royalty-free, and it reached universal browser support in a few years. Technically the two formats are close cousins — the same container lineage, a different codec inside.
How long do you keep my photos?
Uploads and their outputs are deleted automatically after a few hours. They are never shared, published or made searchable, and no account, email address or payment is required to use the tool.