Modern phones and apps have introduced a handful of newer image formats that don't always play nicely with older software or specific upload forms - here's what each one is actually for, and the everyday edits that tend to come up around them.

Why there are so many image formats now

WEBP and AVIF are newer formats built for the web, offering meaningfully smaller file sizes than JPG or PNG at a comparable visual quality - which is exactly why some sites and apps have switched to them by default. HEIC is Apple's default photo format on modern iPhones, which is efficient on-device but still not universally accepted by every upload form or older piece of software, hence the steady stream of "convert HEIC to JPG" searches.

When you actually need to convert between formats

Mostly when a specific website, printer, or piece of software only accepts an older, more universal format like JPG or PNG - converting a modern HEIC or WEBP photo down to JPG solves compatibility issues at the small cost of a slightly larger file than the original. Our PNG to WEBP Converter and PNG to SVG Converter handle those specific conversions directly.

Resizing for a specific platform

Every platform has its own recommended image dimensions - a YouTube thumbnail, an Instagram post, a LinkedIn banner, and a Facebook cover photo are all different shapes and sizes, and using the wrong one usually means your image gets awkwardly cropped by the platform's own auto-resize. Setting the exact pixel width and height before you upload, rather than relying on the platform's default crop, keeps you in control of what actually shows. Our PixelPerfect Image Resizer lets you set any exact dimensions you need.

Compressing without visible quality loss

For everyday sharing (not a strict KB limit on a form), a moderate compression setting is usually invisible to the eye while cutting file size substantially - useful for faster-loading web pages, quicker uploads, and staying under app attachment limits. Our Image Compressor shows a live size readout as you adjust the quality slider, so you can see exactly where the trade-off becomes noticeable and stop before it does.

Removing a background or cropping to a circle

Our Background Remover isolates a subject from its background automatically for a clean, transparent-background result, and Image Crop handles cropping an image into a perfect circle for a profile picture or avatar.

If your phone's storage is full of large photos

Running a batch of recent photos through a compressor before backing them up or sharing them is usually the fastest way to free up space without having to delete anything you actually want to keep - worth doing periodically rather than waiting until storage is completely full.