Image guides
How to Convert HEIC to TIFF in Your Browser
HEIC — the format iPhones save photos in by default — stores images with HEVC (H.265) intra-frame compression inside an ISO-BMFF container, and can even pack several images (a burst or a Live Photo) into one file. This guide explains what actually happens when a HEIC file is decoded into TIFF, and why TIFF is worth reaching for over the original in the first place.
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How HEIC becomes TIFF
- The browser's HEIF decoder reads the HEVC-coded image data inside the HEIC container and reconstructs it into a full grid of pixel values — the same decode step your Photos app performs just to display the picture.
- Because a HEIC file can hold more than one image (a burst sequence, or a Live Photo's still frame plus its companion image), the decoder returns every image it finds, not just one.
- Each decoded image is re-encoded as an uncompressed 8-bit RGBA TIFF — no HEVC-style compression is applied on the way out, so the pixel data is written essentially as-is.
- A file with a single decoded image downloads as one .tiff; a file with more than one downloads as a ZIP containing one TIFF per image, so nothing found in the container is dropped.
What changes when you convert
The most consequential change isn't visual — it's the camera metadata. HEIC files from iPhones carry EXIF data (lens, exposure, GPS location, capture timestamp), and none of that metadata carries into the TIFF output. What you get is pixel data only, not a like-for-like archive of the original file.
File size moves sharply in one direction: up. HEVC compression is what makes HEIC files small in the first place, often a fraction the size of an equivalent JPEG. Stripping that compression and writing raw RGBA means the TIFF can be several times larger than the source HEIC — expected here, not a bug, since this TIFF encoder is deliberately uncompressed.
Transparency is rarely a factor for this pair — HEIC photos straight from a camera almost never carry an alpha channel — but if a decoded frame does include one, it's preserved in the RGBA output rather than flattened away.
When TIFF is the right choice — and when it isn't
TIFF earns its place when a downstream process specifically demands an uncompressed, widely-supported raster format: prepress and print workflows, document-scanning pipelines, and archival storage where you want a master copy free of further lossy compression all typically call for TIFF by name — and most of that older, print-oriented software doesn't accept HEIC to begin with.
If the goal is just to open the photo on a non-Apple device or share it online, TIFF is the wrong target — its uncompressed size makes it impractical for that. A modern web format like AVIF or WebP keeps the file small; BMP suits simple legacy Windows software that has no use for compression at all; ICO is the answer if you specifically need an application or favicon icon.
Limitations and privacy
Two things do not survive this conversion: EXIF/camera metadata is discarded, and any compression artifacts already introduced by the original HEVC encode are baked into the pixels you now have — TIFF can't recover detail HEIC's compression already discarded, it just stops compressing any further.
Conversion happens entirely in your browser — the HEIC file is decoded and re-encoded locally, with nothing uploaded to a server, and multi-image files are packaged into a ZIP client-side as well.
Convert HEIC to TIFF FAQ
- Why does my iPhone save photos as HEIC instead of JPEG?
- HEIC uses HEVC (H.265) compression, which typically produces files roughly half the size of an equivalent JPEG at similar visual quality — that's why it's Apple's default capture format.
- Will converting a Live Photo or burst produce more than one TIFF?
- Yes. HEIC containers can hold multiple images, and every decoded image is converted — a multi-image file downloads as a ZIP with one TIFF per image, not just the first.
- Does converting to TIFF restore quality lost when the photo was captured?
- No. TIFF stores the pixel data exactly as HEIC's decoder produces it. Any compression artifacts already present in the HEIC are carried over, not removed — TIFF just avoids adding any more.
- Is my photo's location or camera data kept in the TIFF?
- No. EXIF metadata such as GPS location, lens, and exposure settings is not carried into the TIFF output — only the pixel data is preserved.
- Is HEIC-to-TIFF conversion done locally, or uploaded somewhere?
- Locally. The HEIC file is decoded and the TIFF (or ZIP, for multi-image files) is written entirely in your browser, with nothing sent to a server.
Related guides
- HEIC vs JPEG vs PNGCompare HEIC, JPEG, and PNG for photos, transparency, file size, and compatibility so you can choose the right Image Converter output.
- Convert Images Without UploadingLearn what browser-local image conversion means on Looty Tools, what stays on your device, and how Image Converter avoids a conversion upload.
