iPhone photos
Convert HEIC to JPG in Google Drive without downloading
You share a folder of holiday photos and someone replies: “I can’t open these.” Your iPhone saved them as HEIC, and half the world still cannot read that format. You can fix it without downloading a single file.
What HEIC is, and why it keeps breaking things
Apple switched to HEIC in 2017 because it stores roughly the same picture in about half the space of a JPEG. That part is genuinely better. The problem is everything else: HEIC relies on the HEVC codec, which is covered by patents, so support never became universal. Windows wants a paid extension. Plenty of web uploaders reject the file outright. Older Android phones show a grey box.
So the photo is fine, sitting in your Drive, and simply cannot be opened by the person you sent it to.
The usual fix, and the shorter one
Converter websites
- Download the HEIC files from Drive
- Upload them to a conversion site
- Wait, then download the results
- Upload those back to Drive
Your photos spend time on a stranger’s server, and free converters usually cap you at a handful of files.
Convert them in place
- Pick the photos from Drive
- Choose JPEG
The decoding runs in your browser. The photo never reaches anyone’s server, and there is no limit on how many you convert at once.
How to do it
- Open the app and sign in with Google.
- Pick your HEIC photos through Google’s file picker — My Drive, a shared drive, or files shared with you.
- Set the output to JPEG. Leaving it on Automatic also works: HEIC has no transparency, so Automatic picks JPEG for you.
- Resize while you are at it. A 12-megapixel iPhone photo is 4032 px wide. For email or a document, 1600 px on the longest edge is plenty and cuts the file dramatically.
- Compress. New JPEG files appear next to the originals with a
-pixelcinchsuffix. Your HEIC files stay exactly as they were.
A real example
One 8064×6048 iPhone photo, resized to 1600 px and written as JPEG:
| Format | Dimensions | Size | Opens on |
|---|---|---|---|
| HEIC (original) | 8064 × 6048 | 43.5 MB | Apple devices, newer Android |
| JPEG (converted) | 1600 × 1200 | 412 KB | Everything |
That is 99% smaller and readable everywhere. Most of the saving comes from the resize, not the format change — which is why converting without resizing often disappoints.
Stop the problem at the source
If you would rather your iPhone stopped making HEIC files altogether: Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible. New photos will be JPEG. Photos you already took stay HEIC, so you will still want to convert those.
There is a trade-off: “Most Compatible” roughly doubles the space each photo takes on your phone. Many people leave the camera on HEIC and convert only what they need to share.
Common questions
Why can’t Windows open my iPhone photos?
HEIC uses the HEVC codec, which is patent-encumbered. Windows needs a paid extension from the Microsoft Store, and many web apps simply refuse the format. JPEG has no such problem — everything opens it.
Will converting lose quality?
Some, unavoidably — HEIC and JPEG are both lossy, so you are re-encoding. At quality 80 the difference is invisible at normal viewing sizes, and the file is usually far smaller because the original was full-resolution. If you need the untouched original, keep it: PixelCinch writes a new file and leaves yours alone.
Do my photos get uploaded to a conversion service?
No. The decoding happens in your browser tab. PixelCinch loads an open-source HEIC decoder only when a HEIC file actually appears, and the photo never reaches our servers — there is no server doing the work.
Can I convert a whole album at once?
Yes. Select as many photos as you like in one run. A recent run took twelve files from 81.3 MB to 1.5 MB in 22 seconds, including a 43.5 MB HEIC.
What about Live Photos?
Only the still frame is converted. The motion part is a separate video file in Drive and is left untouched.
Can I go the other way — JPEG to HEIC?
No. Browsers can decode HEIC with help but cannot write it, so HEIC is input-only. Output is JPEG, PNG or WebP.
Related: compress images in Google Drive without downloading them.