Image Tools

Smaller file, or smaller picture?

These are different jobs, and reaching for the wrong one is the most common mistake on this page.

Compress Image keeps the picture the same size on screen and throws away detail your eye does not miss. Use it when a file is too large to email or upload.

Resize Image changes the pixel dimensions. Use it when something is too big in the sense of not fitting — a 4000-pixel-wide photo going into a 600-pixel column, for instance. This usually saves far more than compression does, because you are discarding pixels rather than detail.

If both apply — the usual case for a phone photo going onto a website — use Compress and Resize and do it in one pass. Doing it in two compresses an image you are about to throw pixels away from, which costs quality for no benefit.

Choosing a format

Format matters more than any quality slider, and the right answer depends on what is in the picture rather than on which format is newest.

Photographs belong in JPG or WebP. Screenshots, logos, diagrams, and anything containing text belong in PNG or WebP — put a screenshot through JPG and the text picks up a visible fuzz around every letter. Anything needing transparency must be PNG or WebP; JPG cannot store it, and fills the transparent parts with white.

For images going on a website, WebP is usually the answer: typically 25–35% smaller than the equivalent JPG, far smaller than PNG, and supported by every browser in current use. Image to WebP converts in one step. The long version is in JPG, PNG, or WebP.

If your photos came off an iPhone

iPhones save photos as HEIC by default, and no browser except Safari can open that format. That is why a HEIC file will not process in the tools here — and why they now name the format when you try, rather than calling your photo damaged. You can convert them on a Mac with Convert Image, or stop the problem at the source in Settings › Camera › Formats › Most Compatible. The full explanation is here, including what switching actually costs you.

Metadata, and what your photos are carrying

A photo from a phone usually carries EXIF metadata: the camera, the settings, the date, and often the exact GPS coordinates where it was taken. That travels with the file when you send it, or post it somewhere that does not strip it. EXIF Viewer shows what is actually in a given file, and Remove Image Metadata takes it out. Both run on your device, which is the only sensible way to handle a question about where you have been.

Why these run in your browser

Browsers decode and encode JPG, PNG, and WebP natively, so there is nothing a server needs to do for most image work — and plenty of reason not to send it one. Nothing here is uploaded; watch the Network tab and see for yourself, or read how it works.

The honest limit: dedicated encoders like MozJPEG and OxiPNG, which only run on a server, do beat a browser — by roughly a fifth on JPG, and more meaningfully on PNG. Shipping them would mean about a megabyte of extra code on every page, on tools whose whole appeal is being instant. For most files, choosing the right format closes more of that gap than the better encoder would.