Why can't people open the HEIC photos I email?

Their computer, phone or webmail may not support HEIC, especially on Windows or older Android phones. Converting the photos to JPG before sending fixes it for everyone.

Does iPhone Mail send photos as HEIC or JPG?

When you attach photos from the Photos library, iPhone Mail usually sends JPGs. Attaching from the Files app, or forwarding original files, can send HEIC instead.

What is the email attachment size limit?

It depends on the provider, but limits of roughly 20 to 25 MB per email are common. Attachments are also encoded for sending, which makes them about a third larger, so leave some headroom.

How do I make photos smaller to email?

Convert them to JPG and compress to around 300 KB to 1 MB each. The converter on this page does both in one step and works in your browser.

How many photos can I email at once?

At 500 KB each, you can usually fit around 30 photos within common limits. For more, send several emails or share a cloud link instead.

Should I remove location data before emailing photos?

It's a good idea if you don't know who the email might be forwarded to. Our converter removes GPS location by default while keeping the date and camera details.

How to Send HEIC Photos by Email (So They Open)

The quick fix

Drop your photos into the converter on this page. It turns them into email-friendly JPGs at a sensible size, strips the GPS location, and gives you a ZIP or individual files. Attach those to your email and they'll open on Windows, Android, webmail and anything else. Nothing is uploaded during the conversion; it all happens in your browser.

Why emailed HEIC photos don't open

Email doesn't care about file formats. It delivers whatever you attach. The trouble is at the other end. If your recipient uses Windows, an older Android phone, or a webmail client that can't preview HEIC, they'll see a generic file icon or an error.

You often won't know what device someone uses, and they may forward your email to someone else. JPG is the safe choice for any photo going to someone outside your own Apple devices.

How iPhone Mail handles photos

The iPhone tries to help here, and often succeeds.

Attaching from Photos

If you share photos from the Photos app to Mail, or use the photo button inside the Mail composer, iOS usually converts them to JPG. Mail may also show a size choice before sending, typically Small, Medium, Large and Actual Size. Pick Large or Medium for a good balance.

Attaching from Files

Photos saved to the Files app are usually attached as they are. If they're HEIC, the recipient gets HEIC.

Mail Drop

When attachments are too large for normal email, iPhone Mail may offer Mail Drop, which uploads them to iCloud and sends a download link. The recipient downloads the originals, which may still be HEIC.

Sending from a Mac

Mail on a Mac generally attaches the file you give it, unchanged. Photos AirDropped from an iPhone to a Mac are usually HEIC, so if you attach them from Finder, the recipient gets HEIC.

Attachment size limits

Every email provider caps how big a message can be. Limits of roughly 20 to 25 MB per email are common among major providers, but they vary and change, and your recipient's provider may have a smaller limit than yours.

Two things catch people out:

Encoding overhead. Attachments are converted to text for sending, which makes them about a third larger. A 20 MB folder of photos can become a 27 MB email.
Recipient limits. Your email can leave fine and still bounce at a smaller inbox at the other end.

How many photos fit?

JPG size per photo	Photos in about 15 MB of attachments	Good for
3 MB (full size, high quality)	5	Sending a few originals for printing
1 MB	15	Sharing that still looks great full screen
500 KB	30	Everyday sharing
200 KB	75	Quick previews, lots of photos

Aiming for about 15 MB of attachments leaves headroom for encoding and stricter inboxes.

Step by step: convert and shrink photos for email

Open the converter on this page on your phone or computer.
Add your HEIC photos. On a computer you can drop a whole folder.
Keep the default email preset, or set a target such as 500 KB per photo with compress HEIC to 500 KB.
Check the metadata option. GPS is removed by default; choose Remove everything if you'd like to strip dates and camera details too.
Download the JPGs. On iPhone, tap Save to put them in Photos so you can attach them easily from Mail.
Attach the JPGs to your email and send.

The compressor keeps quality as high as possible and only shrinks dimensions if quality alone can't hit the target. Photos at 500 KB still look sharp on a laptop screen.

Should you send a ZIP?

A ZIP is tidy, and some email providers handle one attachment better than thirty. But some recipients, especially on phones, find ZIPs awkward to open. For a handful of photos, attach them individually. For dozens, a ZIP or a cloud link is easier.

When to use a cloud link instead

Email isn't designed for large photo collections. Send a link when:

you have more than about 30 to 50 photos,
you need to send full-resolution originals for printing or editing,
the recipient needs to download them more than once.

iCloud links, Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox all work. Two tips:

Convert before you upload if the recipient isn't on Apple devices. Cloud services often store and deliver the original HEIC.
Mind the location data. Shared links get forwarded. Remove GPS first with remove GPS from HEIC, which cleans the files without re-compressing them.

Privacy: what's inside your photos

Each iPhone photo usually records when and where it was taken, and with which device. Emails get forwarded, and attachments live in inboxes for years. Removing the GPS location before you send is a sensible default. Our converter does this automatically, and you can view what a photo contains first with the HEIC metadata viewer.

If someone sends you HEIC photos

Received HEIC attachments you can't open? Save them, then drop them into the converter on this page. They'll come out as JPGs. For more fixes, see why can't I open HEIC files.

Email HEIC photos