# What file type are photos on Android? — Adinand Auto File Sorter

Last reviewed: October 22, 2026. HTML version: https://adinandsorter.com/answers/what-file-type-are-android-photos

**JPEG, a `.jpg` file, or, if the camera has been set to save space, a format called HEIF, which arrives as `.heic`.** Which of the two your phone writes is a camera setting, not something Android decides for every phone, and the makers' help pages describe the switch without telling you which way it starts. A third kind, RAW, appears only when you ask for it.

## What Android itself can open <p>Google's platform table lists the picture formats built in: BMP, GIF, JPEG (`.jpg`), PNG, WebP, HEIF (`.heic; .heif`) and AVIF. Its HEIF row gives decoding from Android 9.0 and encoding from Android 10, and carries the note "Device optional" ([*Supported media formats*, Android Developers](https://developer.android.com/media/platform/supported-formats?hl=en), read 22 October 2026). So HEIF is a format Android knows about, but a given phone is not required to handle it. That one word, optional, is one reason a `.heic` picture can open on one phone and not on the next.</p>

## Samsung Galaxy: the "high efficiency" switch <p>Samsung documents the setting in its camera guides. For the Galaxy S23 it sits in the Camera app's Settings under **Advanced picture options**: "High efficiency pictures: Save space by capturing pictures in HEIF (high efficiency image) format. Some apps and websites do not support HEIF pictures." The same list offers Pro mode a choice of "JPEG format, RAW and JPEG formats, or RAW format" ([*The best camera features on your Galaxy S23*, Samsung US](https://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS10003680/), read 22 October 2026). On the Galaxy S26 the entry is called **Photo format**, reached through the four-dot Quick controls and then Settings: "Save space by capturing pictures with Photo mode in high efficiency image format (HEIF)" ([*Use camera features on Galaxy S26*, Samsung US](https://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS10010343/), read 22 October 2026).</p> <p>Neither Samsung page says whether the switch is on or off when the phone is new; both are silent on the default. Check your own camera's settings instead of assuming, or look at the end of a recent photo's file name.</p>

## Pixel: JPEG, with RAW as an extra <p>Google's Pixel Camera help documents one format choice, RAW. You turn on **RAW/JPEG control** under Settings, More settings, Advanced (not needed on Pixel 8 Pro), then switch on **RAW + JPEG** in photo mode ([*Change your Camera app settings*, Pixel Camera Help](https://support.google.com/pixelcamera/answer/2838995?hl=en), read 22 October 2026). With it on, "your camera saves your image files in JPEG + RAW format", and Google Photos shows a "RAW" badge on those pairs ([*Edit a photo or video on your Pixel phone or tablet*, Pixel Camera Help](https://support.google.com/pixelcamera/answer/9940184?hl=en), read 22 October 2026). The settings page we read does not mention HEIF at all, and neither page names the RAW file's extension, so we will not either.</p>

## How to tell what you have <ul> <li>**Look at the name.** A file manager shows the full name; the letters after the last dot are the type. `.jpg` or `.jpeg` is JPEG, `.heic` or `.heif` is HEIF.</li> <li>**Expect HEIF to be the one that causes trouble.** Samsung's own warning about apps and websites is the practical cost, paid when you upload or send a picture somewhere else.</li> <li>**Backups take both.** Google Photos lists "Photos: .jpg, .heic, .heif, .png, .webp, .gif, .avif, and most RAW files" among what it can back up ([*Back up photos & videos*, Google Photos Help](https://support.google.com/photos/answer/6193313?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid), read 22 October 2026).</li> </ul> <p>Renaming a `.heic` to `.jpg` does not convert it; it only changes the label, as [our extension page](https://adinandsorter.com/answers/change-a-file-extension-on-android) explains.</p>

## What Adinand Auto File Sorter does with each type <p>The app files pictures by their extension and nothing else. In a folder it watches, Downloads by default, a `.jpg`, `.jpeg`, `.png`, `.webp` or `.gif` goes to the Images category; a `.heic` is not on that list, so it goes to Others. On Pro, a custom rule with the extension `heic` can send those to a folder of their own. The camera's own folder is never one of its ready-made watched folders, so it does not sort the photos you take out of the box.</p>

Related: [Common file types and extensions](https://adinandsorter.com/answers/common-file-types-and-extensions) · [Where photos are stored on Android](https://adinandsorter.com/answers/where-are-photos-stored-on-android) · [Changing a file extension on Android](https://adinandsorter.com/answers/change-a-file-extension-on-android) · [What format does Android use?](https://adinandsorter.com/answers/what-format-does-android-use)