What Is a WebP File? How to Open and Convert It

A WebP file (.webp) is an image format created by Google for the web. It does the jobs of both JPEG (lossy photos) and PNG (lossless graphics with transparency), and adds animation, usually in smaller files. Every current browser opens it, and so do recent versions of Windows, macOS, iOS and Android; when a program or upload form refuses it, convert it to JPG or PNG.

What's inside a WebP file

A WebP file is a small container (based on RIFF) holding one of two kinds of image data, as described in IETF RFC 9649:

• Lossy WebP uses the same intra-frame compression as the VP8 video codec. It's the JPEG replacement: Google reports files 25–34% smaller than JPEG at equal SSIM quality.
• Lossless WebP (VP8L) keeps every pixel. It's the PNG replacement: about 26% smaller than PNG in Google's measurements.

Both can carry transparency (an alpha channel), and a WebP can hold animation, which makes it an alternative to GIF. It can also carry EXIF and XMP metadata and a color profile, like JPEG. The MIME type is image/webp.

Limits worth knowing: WebP stores 8 bits per color channel (no 16-bit like PNG) and caps images at about 16,383 pixels per side.

Why you keep getting WebP files

When your browser requests an image, it tells the server which formats it accepts. If WebP is on the list, many sites and content delivery networks send WebP because it loads faster. Right-click and Save image as, and you get that WebP, even if the page looked like it had a JPEG. Nothing is wrong with the file; it just isn't what older software expects.

Open and convert WebP on each system

Windows

1. Double-click the file. It opens in Photos on Windows 11.
2. If Photos can't show it, install the free WebP Image Extension published by Microsoft from the Microsoft Store, then try again.
3. To convert, right-click the file and choose Open with > Paint, then File > Save as and pick PNG or JPEG.

A browser works too: drag the file into Chrome, Edge or Firefox to view it.

Mac

WebP support in macOS arrived with macOS Big Sur (11).

1. Double-click the file to open it in Preview.
2. Choose File > Export.
3. In Format, pick JPEG, PNG or HEIC. For JPEG, set the Quality slider.
4. Click Save.

For several files at once, select them in Finder, Control-click and choose Quick Actions > Convert Image, then a format and size.

iPhone and iPad

iOS has displayed WebP since iOS 14, in Safari, Photos and Files.

1. Save the image to the Files app (in Safari, touch and hold the image, then save it, or use Share > Save to Files).
2. In Files, touch and hold the file and look for Quick Actions > Convert Image, then choose JPEG or PNG. The converted copy appears next to the original.
3. If your version of Files doesn't offer it, the Shortcuts app's Convert Image action does the same thing.

Android

Android has decoded WebP since Android 4.0, with lossless and transparent WebP since Android 4.2.1, so Google Photos, gallery apps and Chrome open it without extra steps.

Android doesn't include a general "convert image" command. Options are a trusted converter app, an editor that lets you choose the output format, or a browser-based tool. A screenshot of the image is a crude last resort: it loses resolution and adds your screen's framing.

Our free WebP to JPG converter turns WebP into JPG (or PNG) in the browser on any of these systems, without uploading the file.

Should you convert it at all?

Often you don't need to. Convert only when:

• An upload form rejects it. Some services accept only JPG or PNG; LinkedIn's profile photo is one example. See profile picture sizes for what each platform accepts.
• You'll edit it in older software that doesn't read WebP.
• You're sending it to someone whose device or software may not open it. For email, also check email attachment size limits.

When you convert, pick the right target:

• Photos → JPEG. Converting a lossy WebP to PNG makes the file several times larger without adding any detail.
• Graphics, screenshots, transparency → PNG. JPEG has no transparency; transparent areas turn white or black.

The full comparison is in PNG vs WebP, and how to compress an image without losing quality covers quality settings.

Metadata travels with WebP too

WebP files can carry EXIF data, including GPS location, just like JPEGs. Many websites strip it when they generate WebP versions, but a WebP made from your own photo by an app or converter may keep it. Check a file with our photo metadata viewer and clean it with the EXIF remover; both run in the browser.

Is a WebP file safe?

A WebP file is an image, not a program, and opening one is as routine as opening a JPEG. The risk with any image format is a bug in the software that decodes it. In 2023 a serious flaw in libwebp, the common WebP library (CVE-2023-4863), was exploited and then patched in browsers and operating systems. The lesson isn't to avoid WebP; it's to keep your browser and system updated.

Keeping your own photos private

If you're converting photos of documents, receipts or anything personal, think about where the copies end up: a Downloads folder, a cloud sync, a shared computer. sigil. keeps photos and document scans in an encrypted vault on your phone with 256-bit encryption, opened only by the sign you draw on a 5×5 grid, and strips EXIF and location on import and export. There's no account and no server.

Bottom line

WebP is a modern image format from Google that replaces both JPEG and PNG with smaller files. Current browsers and recent versions of Windows, macOS, iOS and Android open it. When something won't accept it, convert photos to JPEG and graphics to PNG with Preview, Paint, the Files app or a browser tool.

Sources

• IETF RFC 9649: WebP Image Format
• Google for Developers: WebP
• MDN: Image file type and format guide
• caniuse: WebP image format
• Android Developers: Supported media formats
• Microsoft Store: WebP Image Extension
• Apple: Convert image file types in Preview on Mac
• Apple: Perform quick actions in the Finder on Mac
• CVE record: CVE-2023-4863