--- title: "HEIC meaning: iPhone photo format and marketplace support | Herofab" description: "HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) is the default iPhone image format." url: https://herofab.app/glossary/heic language: en updated: 2026-11-12 --- # HEIC HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) is the image format iPhones use by default, under the camera's High Efficiency setting. It holds HEIF images compressed with the HEVC codec, which keeps a photo in a smaller file than JPEG at similar quality. Many apps, websites and marketplaces still expect JPEG or PNG instead. It matters when a photo goes from an iPhone to a listing or an editor that does not open it, and Herofab's free [HEIC to JPG converter](https://herofab.app/tools/heic-to-jpg) turns HEIC files into JPGs in the browser, with nothing uploaded. With Herofab [HEIC to JPG converter](https://herofab.app/tools/heic-to-jpg) ![A gold filigree scent bottle on a marble block](https://herofab.app/img/ex/perfume-marble-1100.webp) Made with Herofab · Product studio HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) holds HEIF images compressed with the HEVC codec. On iPhone, it is the format behind the camera's High Efficiency setting. When a marketplace does not accept HEIC, converting to JPG before upload avoids the error; the HEIC to JPG converter does it in the browser. ## What HEIC is and why phones use it HEIC is a newer way of storing a photo than JPEG. It compresses the picture more efficiently, so a photo of the same visible quality takes about half the storage. That is why iPhones save photos in it by default, and many Android phones offer it as a setting. A HEIC file can also hold more than a single picture: a sequence of pictures, or a photo together with its depth map. On the phone this is useful. For a product listing only the single still image matters. ## Where HEIC causes trouble The format is well supported inside one phone maker's devices and unevenly outside them. Many web browsers cannot display it, some image editors need an extra component to open it, and a number of marketplaces and shop systems reject it at upload. The usual sign is an upload that fails without a clear reason, or a file that arrives on a computer with an ending the software does not know. Phones often convert photos silently when they are shared by mail or message, which is why the problem appears with some ways of transferring files and not with others. ## Two ways around it The first is to convert. Turning a HEIC photo into a JPEG takes a moment and loses no visible quality when the JPEG quality is set high. The original can stay on the phone as the archive copy. The second is to stop the phone from using HEIC. The camera settings offer a choice between the efficient format and a more compatible one; the compatible setting saves JPEG from the start, at the price of larger files. > **With Herofab** > > Turn iPhone HEIC photos into JPGs that every marketplace accepts. > > [HEIC to JPG converter](https://herofab.app/tools/heic-to-jpg) ## HEIC and other image formats - **Image file format:** The image file format is the general term: the way a picture is stored in a file. HEIC is one such format, alongside JPEG, PNG and WebP, and each marketplace lists the ones it accepts. - **[WebP](https://herofab.app/glossary/webp):** WebP is another efficient format, made for the web. Browsers display it widely, which cannot be said of HEIC, but phone cameras do not save photos in it. - **[Image compression](https://herofab.app/glossary/image-compression):** Image compression is how a file is made smaller. HEIC uses a newer method than JPEG, which is where its smaller files come from. - **[sRGB colour space](https://herofab.app/glossary/srgb):** sRGB is a colour space, not a format. Phone photos are often saved in a wider colour space, so the conversion to JPEG is a good moment to convert the colours to sRGB as well. ## A checklist for HEIC photos - The sales channel's list of accepted formats was checked before a HEIC file was uploaded. - The conversion to JPEG used a high quality setting, and the result was compared with the original at full size. - The converted file is in sRGB, so that the colours do not shift in a browser. - The image dimensions are unchanged; some ways of sharing a photo shrink it while converting it. - The HEIC original is kept as the master copy, and edits start from it, not from an already compressed JPEG. ## HEIC, answered. **Can I upload HEIC photos to a marketplace?** Only where the marketplace lists HEIC among its accepted formats, and that differs from one to the next. JPEG is the widely accepted alternative, so converting before upload avoids the question. An iPhone can also be set to save JPEG from the start, in the format settings of its camera. **Does converting HEIC to JPG reduce image quality?** Slightly in theory, rarely visibly in practice. Both formats are lossy, so converting compresses the photo a second time, but at a high quality setting the difference is hard to see at product-page sizes, and the file becomes larger. Herofab's HEIC to JPG converter saves a high-quality JPG with the same pixel dimensions, in your browser, with nothing uploaded. **Why do iPhones save photos as HEIC?** To save storage. HEIC compresses a photo more efficiently than JPEG, so the same picture takes about half the space at similar visible quality, and the file can also hold extras such as picture sequences and depth data. The format was chosen for the phone's needs, not for compatibility with shops and marketplaces. **How do I open a HEIC file on a computer?** Recent operating systems can open HEIC, sometimes after an extension from the system's own store is installed, and current image editors read it as well. Where that is not possible, converting the file to JPEG is the simple way out. Herofab's free HEIC to JPG converter does the conversion in the browser, and nothing is uploaded. **Is HEIC or JPEG the right format for product photos?** HEIC has advantages as an archive format: smaller files and room for more colour information. As a format for delivery it is the weaker choice, because many systems cannot read it. A sensible workflow keeps the HEIC original and uploads a JPEG, or a PNG where transparency is needed. ## What marketplaces say about it. Updated 25 September 2026 - **eBay:** HEIC is accepted, along with JPEG, PNG, GIF, TIFF, BMP, WEBP and AVIF [Official page](https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/listings/creating-managing-listings/add-pictures?id=4148) - **Shopify:** HEIC is accepted, though PNG and JPEG are the best options [Official page](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/products/product-media/product-media-types) - **Amazon:** JPEG, TIFF, PNG or non-animated GIF; HEIC is not listed [Official page](https://sell.amazon.com/blog/product-photos) - **Zalando:** JPG/JPEG only [Official page](https://partner.zalando.com/university/article/zalando-image-guidelines) Related [Upscale](https://herofab.app/tools/image-upscaler) · [HEIC to JPG converter](https://herofab.app/tools/heic-to-jpg) · [sRGB colour space](https://herofab.app/glossary/srgb) · [Image zoom](https://herofab.app/glossary/image-zoom) · [Image file size](https://herofab.app/glossary/image-file-size) · [WebP](https://herofab.app/glossary/webp) · [Image compression](https://herofab.app/glossary/image-compression) · [All terms](https://herofab.app/glossary/) Free tools [Product photo checker](https://herofab.app/tools/product-photo-checker) [Marketplace image resizer](https://herofab.app/tools/marketplace-image-resizer) [Image compressor](https://herofab.app/tools/image-compressor) [AI image label checker](https://herofab.app/tools/ai-image-checker)