How do I compress an image to a smaller file size?
Add the picture above, pick a size target or a quality level, and click “Compress image”. You get a new, lighter file and your original stays untouched. The result is shown with its new size, so you know straight away whether it meets the limit you were given.
Photos shrink by dropping detail the eye hardly notices, such as tiny color differences in a blue sky. The more you ask for, the more of that detail goes, which is why a gentle target keeps a picture sharp and an aggressive one starts to look soft or blocky.
Tip: If a site wants both a small file and exact dimensions, resize first and compress second. Fewer pixels means the compressor has less to remove, so quality holds up better.
Which size target should I choose: 1 MB, 500 KB or 200 KB?
Use whatever limit the form states, and no smaller. A rule of thumb for the three common choices:
- Under 1 MB. Good for email attachments and many upload forms. Photos usually stay nearly identical to the original.
- Under 500 KB. A common cap for application portals. Most photos still look fine at normal viewing size.
- Under 200 KB. Tight, often used for ID or profile photos. Expect softer fine detail, especially in large, busy pictures.
If your image is a screenshot with flat colors or text, PNG can be heavy. Converting it to JPG or WebP with the Convert image tool may reach the target with less visible damage.
Why are my phone photos so large, and what can I do?
Phone cameras record far more pixels than a form or chat needs, so one picture can run to several megabytes. Most of that is invisible once the image is shown on a screen. Compress for the size limit, and use Resize image as well if the page asks for particular dimensions.
For documents photographed for upload, such as a receipt or a certificate, keep the target on the generous side so that small print stays readable. Zoom in on the preview before you save, since text is the first thing to blur.
Is it safe to compress an image online?
Yes. You open the page online, but the compressing runs inside your own browser. The image is read, shrunk and handed back on your device, and nothing about the file, its name or its size is sent to a server. That matters for pictures of IDs, medical papers or family photos.
After you have used the tool once, it keeps working without a connection, so you can shrink pictures on a train or with weak signal. You can also confirm the privacy yourself: watch the network tab in your browser while compressing and you will see no upload.