A HEIC viewer that runs in your browser
Someone sent you photos from an iPhone and your computer shows nothing but blank icons? This HEIC viewer lets you open HEIC files directly in your browser – no app to download, no extension and no account. Drop the files onto the page, click a thumbnail and the photo opens full size. If you like what you see, save it as JPG with a single click.
It works on Windows, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS, Android, iPhone and iPad, in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari and Samsung Internet. Your photos are decoded locally with a WebAssembly build of the open-source libheif library, so they are never uploaded and nobody else can see them.
How to open HEIC files online
- Add the files. Drag one or more HEIC files onto the page, click “Choose photos”, or paste a copied image with Ctrl+V or Cmd+V. On a computer you can open a whole folder with “Choose a folder”.
- View them full size. Each photo appears as a thumbnail. Click or tap a thumbnail to see the full-size preview, then close it and open the next one.
- Keep what you need. Download any photo as JPG, or click “Download all (ZIP)” to save them all at once.
You can view HEIC files online like this as often as you like. There is no limit on the number or size of photos, and after your first visit the page keeps working without an internet connection.
Why HEIC files won’t open on many devices
HEIC is the default photo format of iPhone and iPad since iOS 11. It stores pictures with the HEVC (H.265) codec, which produces files about half the size of JPG. The catch is that many systems don’t include an HEVC decoder:
| Device | Opens HEIC out of the box? |
|---|---|
| iPhone, iPad, Mac | Yes |
| Windows 10 / 11 | Only with HEIF Image Extensions and HEVC Video Extensions installed |
| Recent Samsung and Pixel phones | Usually in the gallery, but not in every app |
| Older Android phones | Often not |
| Websites and web forms | Frequently rejected |
On Windows you can fix this by installing the extensions from the Microsoft Store – our guide to HEIC on Windows explains the details. The browser viewer is the quicker option when you just want to see a few photos, or when you’re using a work or school PC where you can’t install anything.
From viewing to converting
The viewer and the converter are the same tool. When you open a HEIC file here, it is converted on the fly, which is why the full-size preview appears so quickly. Choose the format first if you need something other than JPG:
- JPG – the best choice for sharing, e-mailing and uploading (quality 92 by default, adjustable from 50 to 100).
- PNG – lossless, for editing and design. Read more on HEIC to PNG.
- PDF – combine several photos into one document, for example receipts or forms.
The converted photos keep their full resolution, correct orientation and colour profile. By default the date, camera and lens details are kept and only the GPS location is removed.
Tip: if you have a large number of photos to look through, add them in groups. On phones, 20–50 photos at a time keeps the browser responsive. For hundreds of files on a computer, see batch converting HEIC to JPG.
Open HEIC files on iPhone and Mac
Apple devices open HEIC natively in Photos, Files and Preview, so you rarely need a viewer there. The problem usually starts when you share: the person receiving the file may be on Windows or an older Android phone. Sending JPG instead avoids this. Converting is quick here, and if you want to understand the format better, read what HEIC is and why Apple chose it.
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