How to Make Your iPhone Save Photos as JPG, Not HEIC

To make your iPhone take photos as JPG instead of HEIC, go to Settings › Camera › Formats and choose Most Compatible. New photos are saved as JPG from then on. Photos you've already taken stay HEIC, so convert those with HEIC to JPG — a browser tool that converts dozens at once without uploading them.

Change the iPhone camera format

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Camera, then Formats.
3. Under Camera Capture, choose Most Compatible.

From now on the Camera app saves photos as JPG (and videos as H.264 instead of HEVC). To switch back, choose High Efficiency.

What you give up

• Storage: JPG photos take roughly twice the space of HEIC ones. With thousands of photos, that adds up on your iPhone and in iCloud.
• Some camera features: certain modes — such as 4K at 60 fps, Cinematic video and ProRAW-related options on some models — need High Efficiency to be available.

Many people keep High Efficiency for the space saving and simply convert photos when they need to share them with something that doesn't accept HEIC.

Make transfers to a computer use JPG

There's a setting that converts automatically whenever photos are copied to a computer by cable:

1. Settings › Photos.
2. Scroll to Transfer to Mac or PC and choose Automatic.

With Automatic, the iPhone sends compatible JPG files to Windows PCs and older Macs, even though it keeps HEIC on the phone. Keep Originals sends the HEIC files unchanged.

Sharing from the iPhone often converts automatically

When you share a photo through Mail, Messages, many apps, or upload it to a website in Safari, iOS usually converts it to JPG on the way. That's why you often never notice HEIC — until you copy files via iCloud Drive, AirDrop to a PC, or a cloud folder, where they stay as HEIC.

Convert the HEIC photos you already have

1. Get the photos onto your computer or keep them on the phone.
2. Open HEIC to JPG in your browser.
3. Choose JPG and a quality (90% is a good default).
4. Add the HEIC photos — many at once — and click Convert.
5. Download them one by one or as a ZIP.

It works on Windows, Mac, Chromebook and in Safari on the iPhone itself. Nothing is uploaded: the photos are converted on your device.

When you'll need JPG

• Online forms and portals that only accept .jpg files — job applications, visa forms, school portals. For strict size limits, compress afterwards with Compress Image to KB.
• Older Windows software and some printing services.
• Websites and online shops that don't support HEIC uploads.
• Sharing with Android users whose apps can't open HEIC.

Screenshots and downloaded images

The camera setting only affects photos you take. iPhone screenshots are saved as PNG files either way, and images saved from websites keep whatever format the site used — often WebP or JPG.

A privacy note

Whatever the format, iPhone photos usually contain the GPS location where they were taken. Before posting photos publicly or sending them to strangers, check and remove it with the EXIF Viewer & Remover.

Frequently asked questions

Does switching to JPG improve photo quality?

No. HEIC is more efficient; at the same quality it simply uses less space. The switch is about compatibility, not quality.

Will my existing photos change?

No. The setting only affects new photos. Convert old ones separately.

Can I convert HEIC on the iPhone itself?

Yes — open HEIC to JPG in Safari, pick the photos from your library, convert, and save the JPGs to Files or Photos.