How to Convert Any File Format on iPhone

Grabio has a set of native on-device tools, photo formats, PDF actions, video and audio conversions, that run entirely on your iPhone. But sometimes you need something outside that list: an obscure document format, a design file, an image type Apple’s Shortcuts don’t touch. For everything Grabio can’t do locally, it hands off to VERT (vert.sh), a free site that supports 250 or more formats, with your file ready to drop in the moment it opens.

What Grabio Converts On-Device vs What It Hands Off

On your iPhone, Grabio can convert photo formats (JPG, PNG, HEIC), build a photo into a PDF, compress a PDF, pull images out of a PDF, compress or trim video, turn a video into a GIF, extract audio from a video, and convert audio to M4A, all without your file leaving the phone. Outside that list, whether it’s a document format like DOCX or an image type Apple doesn’t support natively, Grabio opens VERT in your browser instead. Be clear about what changes here: your file does get uploaded to VERT’s site for this conversion, it doesn’t stay on-device the way Grabio’s native tools do.

How to Convert Any File Format on iPhone with Grabio

1. Add Grabio to your iPhone once, it’s a free Apple Shortcut. Get the free Shortcut here.
2. Open the file you want to convert and tap Share.
3. Scroll down the share sheet and tap Grabio.
4. If the file type isn’t one of Grabio’s on-device options, it shows a short heads-up and offers to open VERT.
5. VERT opens in your browser with the file ready to upload. Pick the output format you need and download the converted file back to your iPhone.

Is It Private and Free on iPhone?

Be honest about the tradeoff: this is the one category of Grabio’s tools where your file leaves the device, since no Apple Shortcuts action covers 250-plus obscure formats locally. VERT is free to use and lighter on ads than most conversion sites, but the file does get uploaded to convert it. Grabio’s own server never touches the file either way, the handoff goes straight to VERT.

Convert Any File Format: FAQ

Why doesn’t Grabio convert everything on-device?

Apple’s Shortcuts actions cover a specific, limited set of formats natively. Anything past that list has no local conversion path on iPhone, VERT exists precisely to cover that long tail of formats.

Is VERT safe to use for sensitive files?

VERT is a legitimate, widely used conversion site, but any file you upload there does leave your device, unlike Grabio’s native tools. If a file is highly sensitive, check whether it fits one of Grabio’s on-device conversions first.

What kinds of formats does this actually cover?

VERT supports well over 250 formats across documents, images, audio, and video, far beyond what Grabio’s native actions handle. It’s the fallback for anything outside Grabio’s own photo, PDF, video, and audio tools.

Related on iPhone: convert audio to M4A on-device, compress a PDF, or the Grabio blog.