See inside a HEIC.
safe · secure · no server · works offline · fast
…or just start typing at the cursor.
safe · secure · no server · works offline · fast
…or just start typing at the cursor.
A HEIC is HEVC-coded images wrapped in an ISO-BMFF box
container, stored as a set of items. Drop the file and
OmniViewer’s ITEMS tab lists every one — the
primary image, its thumbnail, the EXIF block, a depth or alpha map, the
tiles of a grid — with its role, pixel dimensions and byte size, and
flags the ones that are pure metadata. It reads the small meta
box at the front and never the coded pixels, so even a huge photo lists
instantly.
A Download clean copy button strips the EXIF and any XMP item by zeroing their bytes in place — every offset stays valid and the coded image is copied through untouched, so the result is pixel-identical. The same drop also previews the image, reads the metadata and HEVC profile, and drops to raw or hex.
It’s one lens on OmniViewer’s HEIC Viewer — EXIF/GPS & Structure: drop a file and every tab is one click away. OmniViewer opens every file format, entirely in your browser — no upload, no server.
No. OmniViewer is a static page with no server-side processing: your HEIC is read directly by your browser and never leaves your computer. Even the metadata stripper works locally, assembling the clean copy from byte slices of your original file.
A HEVC-coded image wrapped in an ISO-BMFF container — the same length-prefixed "box" grammar as MP4. Where MP4 describes a timeline of tracks, HEIF (the format; HEIC is the HEVC-coded flavour) describes a set of items. One small meta box near the front lists every item — an hvc1 coded image, a thumbnail, an Exif block, a grid of tiles — plus where each item’s bytes live in the mdat and the properties (dimensions, HEVC config, rotation) attached to each.
Yes — that is the point. OmniViewer opens the HEIC directly: it reads the item structure, the EXIF, the HEVC profile and the dimensions, and previews the picture where your browser can decode HEIC. Nothing is converted or uploaded. If you specifically need a JPG, that is a separate export step this tool deliberately does not do — it inspects the original.
Almost every iPhone photo does. The EXIF — camera make and model, lens, timestamp, exposure, and frequently the GPS position where the photo was taken — is stored as a separate Exif item in the file, referenced from the image. OmniViewer decodes what it finds and shows a verdict the moment the file opens.
Open the ITEMS tab and click "Download clean copy" (or use the Remove buttons on the METADATA privacy card). The EXIF and any XMP item are overwritten with zero bytes in place: every box offset and item location stays exactly where it was, so the file stays valid and the coded image is copied through byte-for-byte. The GPS coordinates are physically gone and the picture is pixel-identical.
Because HEIC stores its pixels as HEVC (H.265) video frames, and only some browsers can decode that: Safari and recent Chrome/Edge builds can, Firefox and older browsers cannot. When your browser can’t decode it, OmniViewer says so — and the ITEMS, METADATA, STATS and hex tabs still read the file’s structure, dimensions and metadata, because those come from the container, not the coded pixels.
Effectively unlimited. The meta box that holds the whole item structure sits near the front of the file, before the coded pixels in mdat, so the item list, dimensions, EXIF and clean-copy stripper cost a handful of tiny reads at any size. The preview relies on your browser’s decoder; the items, stats, hex and raw views work regardless.
HEIF is the container format (ISO/IEC 23008-12); HEIC is HEIF with the images coded using HEVC (H.265), which is what Apple devices produce. AVIF is the same container with AV1-coded images. OmniViewer detects the family from the ftyp brand and opens .heic and .heif the same way.
