Guides
Practical how-tos for editing and converting on your own device: cutting and captioning videos, vertical videos for Shorts and Reels, cropping photos to exact sizes, files that won't open, and keeping your files private.
iPhone photos (HEIC) won't open on Windows? Here's how to fix it
Why iPhone photos arrive as .heic files, why Windows can't open them, and three ways to fix it — including stopping it from happening again.
Saved an image and got a .webp file? How to get a normal JPG or PNG
Why websites hand you WebP files, why some apps won't open them, and how to turn them into JPG or PNG — plus which of the two to pick.
Favicon size guide: 16, 32, 48, 180, 192 and 512 px explained (and how to make one)
Which favicon sizes you need and where each one is used — browser tabs, Google search results, iPhone home screens and Android — plus ICO vs PNG vs SVG and how to make the file.
How to extract the audio from a video (MP4 or MOV to MP3)
Save just the sound from a video as an MP3 — which bitrate to choose, when to use WAV instead, and why private recordings shouldn't be uploaded.
Are online file converters safe? What happens to your files
What really happens when you upload a file to a converter, which files deserve extra care, and how to check for yourself that nothing leaves your device.
What your photos and documents reveal about you (and how to clean them)
Photos carry GPS coordinates, PDFs carry author names and edit history, screenshots carry more than you think. Here is what hides in everyday files and how to remove it.
How to check whether a website uploads your files
Any site can claim it doesn't upload your files. Here is a five-minute test with your browser's developer tools to see for yourself, plus an offline trick that needs no technical skills.
How free online tools make money — and what it means for your privacy
Free converters, PDF editors and image tools still pay for servers and staff. Here are the four common business models and the questions to ask before you drop a file in.
How Localvert handles your data: a plain-language explanation
What happens to your files, what is stored in your browser, what our ads and hosting provider can see, and what we never collect — explained without legal jargon.
PDF too large to email? How to make it smaller
Why PDFs get so big, how to shrink them below email and upload limits without making the text blurry, and what to do when compression isn't enough.
PDF won't let you print, copy or edit? Here's why
Some PDFs open fine but block printing, copying text or editing. Learn how PDF permissions work, the difference from a password-protected PDF, and how to handle your own locked files.
How to remove the location from photos before you share them
Stop photos from revealing where they were taken: settings for iPhone and Android, what social networks remove, and how to clean photos you've already taken.
The right image sizes for Instagram, Stories, YouTube and X
Which pixel sizes and aspect ratios each platform uses, why uploads get cropped or blurry, and how to resize photos so they look sharp everywhere.
JPG, PNG or WebP? Choosing the right image format
A practical guide to the three most common image formats: when each one is best, how they compare in size and quality, and where newer formats like AVIF fit in.
How to make a GIF from a video that isn't huge
GIFs are bigger and grainier than video. Here's how to choose length, size and frame rate so your GIF stays small and looks good — and when a short MP4 is the better choice.
How to cut, trim and join videos without installing anything
Splitting at the playhead, trimming clip edges, reordering and joining several videos into one MP4 — plus the keyboard shortcuts and what happens to quality when you export.
Turn a horizontal video into a vertical one for Shorts, Reels and TikTok
The size vertical platforms expect (9:16, 1080×1920), how cropping a landscape video works, where to keep text so app buttons don't cover it, and the export settings to use.
How to crop a photo to an exact ratio or pixel size (4:5, 1:1, 1080×1350…)
Why a crop box sometimes keeps the original shape, how to crop freely or to a fixed ratio, how to get an exact size like 1080×1350, and why stretching with the resize lock off ruins photos.
How to add subtitles to a video (automatic captions, SRT or burned in)
The difference between burned-in captions and SRT files, how to generate captions automatically, fix the timing, and style them so people can read them on a phone.
What is an AVIF file? How to open it or convert AVIF to JPG
AVIF is a newer image format that's much smaller than JPG. Here's why you're seeing .avif files, which apps can open them, and how to turn one into a JPG or PNG without uploading it.
What is a JFIF file? Why images save as .jfif and how to get JPG
A .jfif file is just a JPEG with a different extension. Here's why Chrome and Edge on Windows save images as JFIF, how to fix it for good, and how to turn existing files into .jpg.