How to open an AVIF file or convert it to JPG on Windows, Mac and phone

Saved a picture and got .avif that Windows or a website won't take? Why sites send AVIF, how to turn it into JPG in a minute, and how to view it on Windows.

Updated October 23, 2026

Short answer: open AVIF to JPG, drop the .avif files and download them as JPG. JPG is already selected and quality is 90, which looks the same as the original. The conversion runs in your browser, so the pictures are not uploaded anywhere. If you only want to view AVIF on Windows, install Microsoft’s free AV1 Video Extension from the Microsoft Store.

Why you got an AVIF file

AVIF is an image format built on the AV1 video codec. At the same visible quality it is often about half the size of a JPG, so many websites and image CDNs send AVIF to every browser that can show it. When you right-click a picture and choose Save image as, you save exactly what the site sent: an .avif file, even if the page looked like any other photo.

You can also get AVIF from image search results, online shops, wallpaper sites, and from people who share files saved that way.

Steps: AVIF to JPG

1. Open AVIF to JPG on your computer or phone.
2. Drop one or many .avif files onto the page, or tap to choose them.
3. Leave Quality at 90, or lower it to make the files smaller.
4. Download each picture with Download, or all of them with Download all as ZIP.

If the AVIF has transparent parts (logos, stickers), JPG can’t keep them: they are filled with the colour under Background for transparency, white by default. To keep transparency, use AVIF to PNG instead.

Why Windows, apps and forms refuse AVIF

• Windows Photos shows AVIF only with the AV1 Video Extension installed. Without it you see a blank thumbnail or “this file format isn’t supported”.
• Upload forms for jobs, visas, schools and shops usually accept only JPG, JPEG or PNG. The file is rejected even if it’s small.
• Older editors, office suites and print kiosks read JPG and PNG but not AVIF.

Installing the extension fixes viewing on your PC, but it doesn’t make a website accept the file. For that you need a real JPG.

On Mac, iPhone and Android

• Mac: recent macOS versions open AVIF in Preview. Choose File › Export, pick JPEG and save.
• iPhone and iPad: iOS 16 and newer show AVIF in Safari and Files, but many apps still don’t accept it. Convert it in the browser with the steps above.
• Android: Android 12 and newer can display AVIF, but apps and websites you upload to may not. The same converter works in Chrome on the phone.

Quality and file size

JPG compresses less efficiently than AVIF, so the JPG is usually larger than the AVIF it came from, often two or three times. That’s normal and doesn’t mean quality got better or worse. If the JPG must fit a limit like 200 KB, run it through Compress image, which accepts AVIF directly and hits an exact size.

Got a .jxl or .webp file instead? The same idea applies: JPEG XL to JPG and WebP to JPG.

FAQ

Is AVIF to JPG conversion lossless?

No. JPG always compresses with some loss, but at quality 90 you won’t see a difference at normal size. If you plan to edit the image, PNG keeps every pixel, at a much larger size.

Are my files uploaded?

No. Your browser decodes the AVIF and writes the JPG on your device. The page has no server that receives files.

It says my browser can’t decode this AVIF. What now?

Update the browser. Current Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari 16 or newer all read AVIF. Very old versions don’t.

Can I stop sites from giving me AVIF?

Not reliably: the site picks the format for your browser. Copying the picture (right-click › Copy image) and pasting it into an editor, or converting after saving, is the practical way.