.heif File Extension

What kind of file is a .heif?

A .heif file is a High Efficiency Image File Format container. It normally uses the image/heif MIME type. Unlike JPEG or PNG, HEIF does not specify one image codec. A file can hold a primary image, thumbnails, multiple full-resolution images, derived images, depth or alpha data, and EXIF or XMP metadata.¹²

That flexibility makes the suffix less specific than it first appears. HEVC-coded HEIF images generally use .heic, while AV1 Image File Format images generally use .avif. The .heif suffix is appropriate for a general HEIF container whose codec-specific form is not better expressed another way.

There is no fixed magic number for every .heif file. A typical file contains an ftyp box near the beginning, but MP4 and other ISO Base Media File Format files do too. Reliable identification requires parsing that box and checking for the mif1 compatible brand, then inspecting the contained image items to determine which codec is needed.¹

How do I open a .heif on my computer?

• On macOS, open supported HEIF images with Photos or Preview. Apple includes HEIF support in macOS High Sierra 10.13 and later.³
• On iPhone and iPad, Photos supports HEIF on iOS 11 and later and current iPadOS versions.³
• On Windows, Microsoft Photos may require both the HEIF Image Extensions and a codec extension appropriate to the image data.⁴
• On Linux, GIMP and tools based on libheif can open or convert supported codecs. GIMP can export HEIF or HEIC with lossy or lossless compression and 8-, 10-, or 12-bit color.⁵

An app may recognize the HEIF container but lack the decoder for its primary image. When a file will not open, inspect it with a format-aware utility such as heif-info, ffprobe, or MP4Box rather than trusting the suffix.

Poly support for .heif

Poly recognizes .heif filenames, creates thumbnails, opens the primary image in its image viewer, extracts dimensions and readable EXIF fields, and supports visual similarity and color search. The Poly agent can reason about the rendered primary image.

Support depends on whether the image codec can be decoded. Poly presents the primary image rather than every image, sequence, depth map, or relationship stored in the container. Text visible inside an ordinary image is not indexed as document text. HEIF metadata can include camera details and location, so review it before sharing a personal image.

History of .heif

HEIF version 1 became ISO/IEC 23008-12 in June 2015.² The format applied box-based container techniques familiar from video to still images, allowing coded images and their metadata or relationships to travel together. IANA registered image/heif in July 2018 and lists .heif and .hif as file extensions.¹

Apple brought HEIF into mainstream photo workflows with iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra in 2017. Apple devices commonly save camera photos with the more specific .heic suffix because those images use HEVC.³

Working with .heif and alternatives

Choose an output based on what must survive:

Apple Photos and Preview can export a supported HEIF image as JPEG or PNG.³ Conversion may preserve the appearance of the primary image while dropping auxiliary images, edits, metadata, or HDR information. Keep the original until you have checked the output.