iPhones save photos in HEIC format by default. But visa portals, exam platforms, and Passport Seva only accept JPEG. Whether you need to convert HEIC to JPEG for a government portal in India, convert HEIC to JPG on iPhone for free, or prepare HEIC photos for SSC, NEET, or JEE exam portals — here is the fastest way to do it. Your photo never leaves your device.
Apple introduced HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) in iOS 11 as the default format because it produces files about half the size of JPEG at comparable quality. However, HEIC is an Apple-specific format not supported by most government portals, exam platforms, or document tools — which is why you need to convert.
At the same file size, HEIC has better quality than JPEG. But when converting a HEIC to JPEG, the quality loss is minimal and imperceptible for document and identity photos. For passport and visa purposes, a JPEG converted from HEIC at quality 85–95% is indistinguishable and fully compliant.
Go to Settings → Camera → Formats → select "Most Compatible." Your camera will now save photos as JPEG by default. Note: this increases individual file sizes by roughly 2×. If you prefer to keep HEIC for personal photos, you can keep the default and just convert when needed for government or exam uploads.
HEIC support requires Apple's codec license and was not included in the browser and server stack used by most Indian government portals (SSC, IBPS, NTA, Passport Seva, etc.). These portals only accept JPEG (and sometimes PNG). The portals were designed years before HEIC became common.
Converting HEIC to JPEG does not compress the file — in fact the JPEG may be larger than the HEIC. After converting, you still need to compress. Use PhotoFit Compress: upload the converted JPEG, type your target KB (e.g. 45 for SSC, 38 for JEE, 150 for Passport Seva), and download.