A measured example
| Recipe | Lossless only, capture information removed |
|---|---|
| Before | 1.73 MB · 4032 × 3024 · JPEG |
| After | 1.68 MB · 4032 × 3024 · JPEG, lossless (tables rebuilt), pixels identical |
| Change | −2.8% |
What this does
Compress image without losing quality: nothing is re-encoded, so a JPEG is repacked with optimal Huffman tables and a PNG recompressed, and the result is decoded and compared with the original before its row says pixels identical. The honest limit: savings are small, often 2–10%, and some files cannot get smaller this way.
When to use this, and when not
- Use it for originals you want to keep exactly, for archives, and for images you will edit again.
- For a real reduction, compress JPEG at quality 76 usually saves far more with no visible change.
- To strip only the location before sharing, keep this page and choose No place on the recipe bar.
Honest limits
- Only baseline, single-scan JPEGs (what cameras and phones write) get new Huffman tables. Progressive JPEGs keep their coded data byte for byte, so only metadata changes.
- CMYK JPEGs, and JPEGs with extra data after the picture (motion photos, several images in one file), are left as they are so nothing is lost.
- A file that comes out no smaller is kept as it was; the row says grew.
Privacy on this page
Capture information is removed here, the colour profile kept. See what a skip means for the codes on these rows.
Questions
What does lossless mean here?
That the picture is not decoded and encoded again. A JPEG keeps every coefficient it had; only the way they are packed (the Huffman tables) is rebuilt, and metadata is edited. A PNG is recompressed and its pixels checked value for value. Both files are decoded and compared before a row says pixels identical.
How much does it save?
Less than a re-encode, honestly: a few percent on most camera JPEGs, more on JPEGs written by quick encoders, and more again where large metadata (a thumbnail, an editing history) is removed. Some files are already packed as tightly as this method allows; those are kept as they were.
Is removing metadata lossless?
For the picture, yes: not a pixel changes. This page starts with capture information removed (the date, camera and location go; the colour profile stays so the colours do not shift). Choose Keep or No place on the recipe bar to keep it all or keep everything but the location.
Which formats work?
JPEG and PNG. A WebP, GIF or other file is left exactly as it is with that reason on its row. CMYK JPEGs are left alone too.
More on this site: all tools.
Other jobs
More ways to shrink a photo
- Compress photosOne photo or a whole folder, one recipe, a skyline of sizes with a line you drag, and a receipt for every file.
- Compress JPEGOne quality number for every JPEG, printed on every row; capture information kept or removed.
- Compress PNGA 256 or 128-colour palette against a lossless pass, the smaller kept, transparency intact.
- Compress WebPLossy WebP at a quality you choose, or lossless with every pixel compared.
- Compress iPhone photosHEIC to small JPEG where your browser can open HEIC, with every format change stated on its row.
- Reduce photo size in KBType a KB target or a range. Quality first, then fewer pixels, checked against the exact bytes written.
- Compress photo to 20 KBSignature-sized limits: the pixels come down as well as the quality, with a legibility floor.
- Compress photo to 50 KBThe 20–50 KB range bank and PAN-style forms ask for, with both ends checked.
- Compress photo to 100 KBQuality first, pixels kept where they can be: the common portal upload limit.
- Compress photo to 200 KBSharp enough to print, under 200 KB: usually quality alone gets there.
- Compress photo to 1 MBMB-scale limits for listings and portals: quality first from 88, pixels only if they must.
- Increase photo size in KBReach a form's minimum honestly: a higher quality, then more pixels up to a limit. Never padding.
- Compress photo for exam formSourced, dated presets for bank, PAN, NEET, SSC and US visa uploads, with a PASS or FAIL line per file.
- Compress signature to 20 KBPaper whitened, ink darkened, cropped to the ink, sized to 140 × 60 and checked.
- Compress photos for emailA per-file ceiling and a measured total for the set, to check against the attachment limit.
- Compress a photo libraryStorage framing: folder structure preserved, originals untouched, gigabytes counted.
- Compress images for websiteWebP at quality 80, long edge 1920, capture information removed, folders kept.
- Reduce image resolutionFewer pixels by percent, exact width × height, long edge or megapixels, at a light quality.