Open and view HEIC files
Sometimes you do not want to convert anything — you just want to see what is in the file somebody emailed you. Drop it here and it appears, with its dimensions and file details.
Drop a HEIC file to view it
shows the image plus its size and dimensions
Why HEIC will not open on your computer
The container is not the problem — Windows 11 and most Linux desktops can parse a HEIF file perfectly well. The problem is the HEVC-compressed image inside it. HEVC decoding is patent-licensed, and Microsoft's answer was to move the codec into a separate Store package that historically cost £0.79/$0.99. Many Linux distributions leave it out of default installs for the same licensing reason.
This viewer sidesteps all of that. It uses a WebAssembly build of libheif that runs inside the page, so your operating system never needs to understand the format at all. Your files are read locally and never sent anywhere.
What this fixes, by platform
- Windows 10 and 11 — opens HEIC without buying HEVC Video Extensions. If you want the permanent fix instead, read this.
- Android — most phones handle HEIC in the gallery now, but files arriving through email or a messaging app often will not open. This does.
- Chromebook — ChromeOS support has improved but remains inconsistent for files from other devices.
- Linux — depends entirely on whether your distribution shipped libheif and the HEVC decoder. Many do not.
- Older macOS — anything before High Sierra has no HEIC support at all.
What the viewer shows you
For each file you get a preview, the pixel dimensions, the file size and the container type. That is usually enough to answer the question people actually have: is this the photo I was expecting, and is it big enough to print or use? If you need the shutter speed, lens, GPS coordinates or capture time, the metadata viewer reads those out instead.
Want to keep the file? Every previewed image gets a Save button that writes a JPG copy at high quality. That copy opens in absolutely anything, so it is a reasonable way to make one awkward file permanently usable without changing any system settings.
Files this viewer cannot open
Three cases fail predictably. Burst sequences — a HEIC holding dozens of frames may only show the primary image or refuse outright. Depth and portrait data — the auxiliary depth map is ignored, so you see the photo without its blur information. Vendor extensions — a few camera manufacturers write non-standard boxes into the container that the open-source decoder skips. In every one of those cases the file is not damaged; it just needs the software from the device that made it. If a file fails and none of those apply, this page walks through diagnosing it.
Common questions
- Do I need to install anything to view HEIC files?
- No. The decoder is loaded as WebAssembly by this page and runs inside your browser tab. Your operating system does not need a HEVC codec, and nothing is installed on your machine.
- Are the files I view uploaded to a server?
- No. The file is read from your disk by the browser and decoded locally. You can verify this by opening your browser's network tools while you view a file, or by disconnecting from the internet after the page has loaded.
- Can I view HEIC files on my phone?
- Yes. On iPhone they already open natively. On Android, this page opens files that the gallery app refuses, particularly ones received as email attachments or through messaging apps.
- Why does my HEIC show only one photo when it was a burst?
- A HEIC container can hold many images, but browser decoders typically extract only the primary one. To get every frame from a burst you need the software on the device that captured it.