Google's web image format — smaller than JPEG or PNG, but plenty of older software still can't open it.
WebP is a raster image format Google released in 2010 to shrink photos and graphics for the web without a visible quality hit. A single WebP file can hold either lossy compression, similar to JPEG, or lossless compression, similar to PNG, and it is one of the few common formats that also supports both transparency and animation in the same container. Every modern browser and every recent phone displays WebP without any extra software, which is why Chrome, Android, and a large share of websites now save images in this format by default. The trouble starts once a WebP file leaves the browser: older versions of Photoshop, Windows' built-in Photo Viewer, many printers, and a surprising number of upload forms and older apps either reject it outright or show a broken-image placeholder instead. Because so much of what gets saved from the web — product photos, downloaded graphics, screenshots — now arrives as WebP, turning it into JPEG or PNG for a form, a print shop, or an app that has not caught up is one of the more common image conversions on a phone.
iPhone, iPad, and Mac open WebP natively in Photos, Preview, and Safari, and every current version of Chrome, Firefox, and Edge renders it directly in the browser on any platform. Windows 10 and 11 need the free WebP Image Extension from the Microsoft Store, and some older photo editors, printers, and upload forms do not support it at all.
A WebP straight off a website often will not upload to older forms, print-shop kiosks, or apps that only recognize JPEG and PNG. Converting it on-device means a downloaded product photo or personal graphic never has to pass through a stranger's upload tool just to become compatible.
Filemorph can convert WebP to JPG on-device — universal compatibility with printers, upload forms, and apps that have never heard of WebP.
Filemorph converts .webp files entirely on-device on iPhone, iPad and Mac — no upload, no account, and it works in Airplane Mode.
Relevant operations in Filemorph:
Plenty of older upload forms only check for a JPEG or PNG file signature and reject anything else, WebP included, even though most browsers display it fine. Converting the file to JPEG first works around this without needing a different form.
Yes. Animated WebP is used the same way an animated GIF is, but at a fraction of the file size for the same motion. Filemorph can convert an animated WebP into a GIF or an MP4 video, whichever the destination needs.
Filemorph converts WebP entirely on-device, so a downloaded product photo or saved graphic never gets uploaded anywhere to change its format, and the conversion works with no internet connection at all.