How to reduce JPG
Do you need to reduce the size of some JPG images so that you can share them more easily via email, WhatsApp or other platforms, but you don’t know how to do that? If the answer is yes, don’t worry: I’m happy to report that you’ve landed on the right guide, at the right time. Today, in fact, I’ve decided to explain how to reduce JPG going both to compress the files in question, both to reduce “visually” the size of the images,
Excuse me? Are you interested in it, but being impractical you fear that the operations to be implemented may be too complicated for you? Well, know that you are wrong, and very wrong! Contrary to appearances, it’s all very simple: you just need to understand what tools to use and where to put your hands and that’s it.
I already anticipate that there are several ad hoc softwares for both Windows and macOS, online services that can be used from any platform and specific apps for Android and iOS/iPadOS that you can use to achieve your goal. Which ones? Everything is explained below. Enjoy reading and have fun!
Index
How to reduce JPG size: Windows
Paint 3D
IrfanView
How to reduce JPG size: Mac
Preview
ImageOptim
How to reduce JPG size: online
How to reduce JPG size: Android
How to reduce JPG size: iPhone
How to reduce JPG size: Windows
Do you want to find out how to reduce JPG and you are using a Windows PC? Do you? Then turn to the tools listed below and follow their instructions.
Paint 3D
The first of the tools to reduce JPG with Windows that I want to recommend you try is Paint 3D. As you can easily guess from its name, it is the evolution of the “classic” Microsoft Paint (which you can also use for the purpose in question), but compared to it offers a whole range of new features, especially with regard to 3D design. It’s free and comes integrated with Windows 10 and later, but if it’s not available or has been removed, it can be downloaded from the relevant section of the Microsoft Store.
To reduce JPEGs with Paint 3D, therefore, start the program by clicking the Start button (the one with the Microsoft logo) on the taskbar and selecting the corresponding shortcut from the menu that appears. Once the Paint 3D window appears, click the Open button and select the JPG image you want to work with.
Now click the Canvas button at the top of the window, select the Resize image with canvas option, decide whether to adjust the image size in pixels or in percent using the drop-down menu, whether to lock the aspect ratio or not using the appropriate option and type the size you want to assign to the file in the Width and Height fields. Alternatively, you can resize the image by moving the selection rectangle.
If, on the other hand, you want to crop the image, maybe because you want to reduce the JPG photo to a passport photo, select the Crop tool on the toolbar at the top, adjust the size of the selection rectangle by dragging it over the image or by using the options in the menu on the right, decide whether or not to lock the proportions using the dedicated option and click the Finish button.
In all cases, save the modified JPG file by clicking the Menu button at the top left and then either Save (to overwrite the current file) or Save As (to save the modified image as a new file) in the menu that opens.
IrfanView
Another tool you can rely on to reduce JPG size for free on Windows is IrfanView. This is a totally free and easy to use software that works primarily as an image viewer, but also integrates a whole range of useful tools and functions to resize and compress photos, even acting in batch.
To download the program to your PC, go to its website and click on the Download button under 64-bit or 32-bit (depending on the version of Windows you are using).
Once the download is complete, open the .exe file and, in the window that appears on your desktop, click on the Yes, Next (four times in a row) and Done buttons to complete the setup.
By default, the program does not have an interface translated into Italian. To remedy this, you have to download the translation file by visiting this web page and clicking on the Installer link under the Italian heading. Then, close the IrfanView window displayed on the screen, open the .exe file and, in the screen that appears on the desktop, click on the Yes, Install and OK buttons.
Then restart the software using the shortcut added on the desktop, then select the Options menu located at the top of the IrfanView window that is displayed, click on Change language, select Italian from the list of available languages and press the OK button.
At this point, you can finally take action. So, if you want to resize an image in JPG format, open it by clicking on the File menu at the top left and then on Open, then click on the Image menu at the top and choose the Resize/Resize option from there.
Using the additional window that opens, indicate the size you want to assign to the photo by selecting the Set new size option and specifying the width and height in the dedicated fields. Alternatively, you can resize the image defining the percentage, the megapixels, choosing one of the available presets and adjusting the various other available settings related to resampling, aspect ratio etc.
Then click the OK button and save the modified photo by clicking on the File menu and selecting Save (original folder) (to overwrite the source file) or Save as (to create a modified copy of the image).
If, on the other hand, what you are interested in doing is cropping the image, indicate the area of the image you want to leave untouched by drawing a selection rectangle, click on the Options menu, choose the item Lossless JPG Cropping from the latter, indicate the folder where you want to save the output file by pressing the Browse button in the window that opens and press the Start button.
Are you interested in understanding how to compress your JPG files? In this case, click on the File menu, then on the Convert/Rename to Batch item in it and, in the window that opens, select the Convert to Batch option in the Task section.
Next, set the JPG format in the Destination Format drop-down list and click the adjacent Options button. In the additional window that opens, adjust the image compression level using the bar next to the Level item.
When you’re done editing, click the OK button, drag the JPG images to be compressed to the box at the bottom right of the IrfanView window, select the folder where you want to save the output files by pressing the Browse button and start the process by clicking the Start Batch Action button.
How to reduce JPG size: Mac
Let’s now move on to the Mac world and find out how to reduce JPGs in that case. To find out more, keep reading. Everything is explained in detail below.
Preview
Preview is the default macOS application through which you can view images and PDF files and make some basic changes to graphic files that are fed to it. Given its features, it also comes back to accomplish the task that is the subject of this tutorial.
To use it for your purpose, double-click on the icon of the JPG file you want to work on to open it directly in Preview. If a different program opens when you do this, it is probably because Preview is no longer the default application for managing images. To restore the association, you can follow the instructions in my guide on how to change a default program.
Next, if you need to work on more than one image, call the thumbnail sidebar of the Preview window by clicking on the View menu in the upper left corner and the Thumbnails item in the menu that opens. Then select all the thumbnails of the images using the combination cmd+a on your Mac keyboard.
Now, if you want to reduce the size of the image, click on the Tools menu, then on the Adjust Size item and use the options in the panel that opens to indicate the size you want to assign to the photo, specifying the height and width, the resolution or choosing one of the available presets. To save the changes, click the OK button and close the window.
If, on the other hand, what you want to do is to change the compression level of the image, click the File menu, select the Export/Export selected images item, choose the location where you want to save the output files on the next screen, choose the JPG option from the Format drop-down list, adjust the compression level of the image by moving the slider next to the Quality item and press the Save button.
ImageOptim
If you are looking for some other solution to reduce JPG size on Mac, I strongly suggest you to consider using ImageOptim. This is a free application specifically for Apple-branded computers that, as the name suggests, allows you to compress images in JPG, PNG and GIF formats.
To download it to your Mac, visit the program’s website and click on the Download for Free button located in the middle.
Once the download is complete, extract the compressed archive and drag the icon of the software to the Applications folder of macOS. Then right-click on it and select Open twice in a row, in order to bypass the restrictions applied by Apple to non-certified developers (this should only be done on first startup).
Now that you see the program’s window, drag the JPG files you want to compress onto it or select them “manually” by pressing the (+) button. Once this is done, the compression process will start automatically and when it is finished the original images will be overwritten and the compression percentage applied to them will be shown in the Savings column.
If you like, you can compress your JPG files even more by selecting them and clicking the More button. You can repeat this last step more than once. If, on the other hand, you want to change the compression level, click the button with the gear wheel at the bottom and work with the Quality tab in the window that opens.
How to reduce JPG size: online
If you don’t want to or can’t download and install new software or use the software on your computer, consider resizing JPGs using web services such as those offered by iLoveIMG. It allows you to both resize and compress images, is easy to use and is free. Note, however, that there are limitations on the maximum size of files that can be uploaded. To cope with this, you have to subscribe to a paid subscription (it costs 4 euros/month) that also allows you to unlock other extra features. Moreover, the privacy of the users is protected as the files uploaded to the service are automatically removed from its servers a few hours after the upload.
To use iLoveIMG to resize a JPG file, visit this web page and drag the JPG files you want to resize to the browser window or press the Select Images button to select them “manually”. You can also get images from Google Drive and Dropbox by clicking on their buttons.
On the next screen, if you want to resize images in pixels, choose the In pixels option, fill in the Width (px) and Height (px) fields with the dimensions you want to assign to them and check or uncheck, according to your needs and preferences, the Maintain aspect ratio and Do not enlarge if the original is smaller options. If, on the other hand, you want to resize images in percent, click the Percentage item and choose the option you prefer.
Finally, click the Resize Images button and then the Download Resized Images button to proceed with downloading the output files. You can also decide to save them to the supported cloud storage services or share them via links by clicking on the appropriate buttons.
If, on the other hand, what you want to do is compress your JPG files, go to this other web page, upload the images proceeding as I have already explained, press the Compress images button and proceed with the download of the output files.
How to reduce JPG size: Android
Would you like to understand how to reduce JPG acting from your Android smartphone or tablet? I’ll tell you right now! In order to do that, you just need to use special apps. Among the many available, I recommend Photo Compress 2.0, which is completely free and allows you to resize images by reducing their size, cropping and/or compressing them.
To download and install it on your device, visit the relevant section of the Play Store and press the Install button (if your device lacks Google services, you can download the app from alternative stores). Then, launch Photo Compress 2.0 by selecting the relevant icon that has been added to the home screen and/or the drawer.
Now that you see the main screen of the app, tap on the Gallery button, grant the app the required permissions and select the image to compress. Next, press the Resize button (to resize the image), the Crop button (to crop it) or the Compress button (to compress it), depending on your needs.
Then adjust the related options you are presented with and tap the button with the name of the operation you want to perform to apply the changes. Then tap the Exit button to save the edited JPG file to the Android Gallery.
How to reduce JPG size: iPhone
If, instead, you have an iPhone (or an iPad, it makes no difference), to reduce JPG I recommend using the Foto Compress app. This is a free application through which you can reduce the weight of images in a simple and fast way. It’s basically free, but in-app purchases are offered (at a base cost of €2.99) to remove advertising and unlock other extra features.
To download and install the app on your device, visit the relevant section of the App Store, press the Get button, then the Install button and authorize the download using Face ID, Touch ID or Apple ID password. Next, launch the app by selecting the relevant icon that has been added to your home screen and/or App Library.
Now that you’re viewing the app’s main screen, choose whether or not to allow notifications to be sent to you and tap on the Non-Personalized Ads button so that you can continue to use the app for free, displaying ads not based on your ID. Once you’ve made your choice, decline the installation of additional software by tapping the No thanks button.
To select the image you want to reduce, tap the (+) button located at the top and the Allow and Allow access to all photos buttons to authorize the app to access your stored images.
Then adjust the image quality by moving the slider on the bar under the heading Image Quality on the next screen and, if you want to adjust the actual size of your photos, move the slider on the bar under the heading Reduce image size to.
To finish, preview the final result by pressing the Preview button. If you are satisfied with it, tap the Continue button and proceed to save the compressed image directly to the iOS photo album.
The first of the tools to reduce JPG with Windows that I want to recommend you try is Paint 3D. As you can easily guess from its name, it is the evolution of the “classic” Microsoft Paint (which you can also use for the purpose in question), but compared to it offers a whole range of new features, especially with regard to 3D design. It’s free and comes integrated with Windows 10 and later, but if it’s not available or has been removed, it can be downloaded from the relevant section of the Microsoft Store.
To reduce JPEGs with Paint 3D, therefore, start the program by clicking the Start button (the one with the Microsoft logo) on the taskbar and selecting the corresponding shortcut from the menu that appears. Once the Paint 3D window appears, click the Open button and select the JPG image you want to work with.
Now click the Canvas button at the top of the window, select the Resize image with canvas option, decide whether to adjust the image size in pixels or in percent using the drop-down menu, whether to lock the aspect ratio or not using the appropriate option and type the size you want to assign to the file in the Width and Height fields. Alternatively, you can resize the image by moving the selection rectangle.
If, on the other hand, you want to crop the image, maybe because you want to reduce the JPG photo to a passport photo, select the Crop tool on the toolbar at the top, adjust the size of the selection rectangle by dragging it over the image or by using the options in the menu on the right, decide whether or not to lock the proportions using the dedicated option and click the Finish button.
In all cases, save the modified JPG file by clicking the Menu button at the top left and then either Save (to overwrite the current file) or Save As (to save the modified image as a new file) in the menu that opens.
IrfanView
Another tool you can rely on to reduce JPG size for free on Windows is IrfanView. This is a totally free and easy to use software that works primarily as an image viewer, but also integrates a whole range of useful tools and functions to resize and compress photos, even acting in batch.
To download the program to your PC, go to its website and click on the Download button under 64-bit or 32-bit (depending on the version of Windows you are using).
Once the download is complete, open the .exe file and, in the window that appears on your desktop, click on the Yes, Next (four times in a row) and Done buttons to complete the setup.
By default, the program does not have an interface translated into Italian. To remedy this, you have to download the translation file by visiting this web page and clicking on the Installer link under the Italian heading. Then, close the IrfanView window displayed on the screen, open the .exe file and, in the screen that appears on the desktop, click on the Yes, Install and OK buttons.
Then restart the software using the shortcut added on the desktop, then select the Options menu located at the top of the IrfanView window that is displayed, click on Change language, select Italian from the list of available languages and press the OK button.
At this point, you can finally take action. So, if you want to resize an image in JPG format, open it by clicking on the File menu at the top left and then on Open, then click on the Image menu at the top and choose the Resize/Resize option from there.
Using the additional window that opens, indicate the size you want to assign to the photo by selecting the Set new size option and specifying the width and height in the dedicated fields. Alternatively, you can resize the image defining the percentage, the megapixels, choosing one of the available presets and adjusting the various other available settings related to resampling, aspect ratio etc.
Then click the OK button and save the modified photo by clicking on the File menu and selecting Save (original folder) (to overwrite the source file) or Save as (to create a modified copy of the image).
If, on the other hand, what you are interested in doing is cropping the image, indicate the area of the image you want to leave untouched by drawing a selection rectangle, click on the Options menu, choose the item Lossless JPG Cropping from the latter, indicate the folder where you want to save the output file by pressing the Browse button in the window that opens and press the Start button.
Are you interested in understanding how to compress your JPG files? In this case, click on the File menu, then on the Convert/Rename to Batch item in it and, in the window that opens, select the Convert to Batch option in the Task section.
Next, set the JPG format in the Destination Format drop-down list and click the adjacent Options button. In the additional window that opens, adjust the image compression level using the bar next to the Level item.
When you’re done editing, click the OK button, drag the JPG images to be compressed to the box at the bottom right of the IrfanView window, select the folder where you want to save the output files by pressing the Browse button and start the process by clicking the Start Batch Action button.
How to reduce JPG size: Mac
Let’s now move on to the Mac world and find out how to reduce JPGs in that case. To find out more, keep reading. Everything is explained in detail below.
Preview
Preview is the default macOS application through which you can view images and PDF files and make some basic changes to graphic files that are fed to it. Given its features, it also comes back to accomplish the task that is the subject of this tutorial.
To use it for your purpose, double-click on the icon of the JPG file you want to work on to open it directly in Preview. If a different program opens when you do this, it is probably because Preview is no longer the default application for managing images. To restore the association, you can follow the instructions in my guide on how to change a default program.
Next, if you need to work on more than one image, call the thumbnail sidebar of the Preview window by clicking on the View menu in the upper left corner and the Thumbnails item in the menu that opens. Then select all the thumbnails of the images using the combination cmd+a on your Mac keyboard.
Now, if you want to reduce the size of the image, click on the Tools menu, then on the Adjust Size item and use the options in the panel that opens to indicate the size you want to assign to the photo, specifying the height and width, the resolution or choosing one of the available presets. To save the changes, click the OK button and close the window.
If, on the other hand, what you want to do is to change the compression level of the image, click the File menu, select the Export/Export selected images item, choose the location where you want to save the output files on the next screen, choose the JPG option from the Format drop-down list, adjust the compression level of the image by moving the slider next to the Quality item and press the Save button.
ImageOptim
If you are looking for some other solution to reduce JPG size on Mac, I strongly suggest you to consider using ImageOptim. This is a free application specifically for Apple-branded computers that, as the name suggests, allows you to compress images in JPG, PNG and GIF formats.
To download it to your Mac, visit the program’s website and click on the Download for Free button located in the middle.
Once the download is complete, extract the compressed archive and drag the icon of the software to the Applications folder of macOS. Then right-click on it and select Open twice in a row, in order to bypass the restrictions applied by Apple to non-certified developers (this should only be done on first startup).
Now that you see the program’s window, drag the JPG files you want to compress onto it or select them “manually” by pressing the (+) button. Once this is done, the compression process will start automatically and when it is finished the original images will be overwritten and the compression percentage applied to them will be shown in the Savings column.
If you like, you can compress your JPG files even more by selecting them and clicking the More button. You can repeat this last step more than once. If, on the other hand, you want to change the compression level, click the button with the gear wheel at the bottom and work with the Quality tab in the window that opens.
How to reduce JPG size: online
If you don’t want to or can’t download and install new software or use the software on your computer, consider resizing JPGs using web services such as those offered by iLoveIMG. It allows you to both resize and compress images, is easy to use and is free. Note, however, that there are limitations on the maximum size of files that can be uploaded. To cope with this, you have to subscribe to a paid subscription (it costs 4 euros/month) that also allows you to unlock other extra features. Moreover, the privacy of the users is protected as the files uploaded to the service are automatically removed from its servers a few hours after the upload.
To use iLoveIMG to resize a JPG file, visit this web page and drag the JPG files you want to resize to the browser window or press the Select Images button to select them “manually”. You can also get images from Google Drive and Dropbox by clicking on their buttons.
On the next screen, if you want to resize images in pixels, choose the In pixels option, fill in the Width (px) and Height (px) fields with the dimensions you want to assign to them and check or uncheck, according to your needs and preferences, the Maintain aspect ratio and Do not enlarge if the original is smaller options. If, on the other hand, you want to resize images in percent, click the Percentage item and choose the option you prefer.
Finally, click the Resize Images button and then the Download Resized Images button to proceed with downloading the output files. You can also decide to save them to the supported cloud storage services or share them via links by clicking on the appropriate buttons.
If, on the other hand, what you want to do is compress your JPG files, go to this other web page, upload the images proceeding as I have already explained, press the Compress images button and proceed with the download of the output files.
How to reduce JPG size: Android
Would you like to understand how to reduce JPG acting from your Android smartphone or tablet? I’ll tell you right now! In order to do that, you just need to use special apps. Among the many available, I recommend Photo Compress 2.0, which is completely free and allows you to resize images by reducing their size, cropping and/or compressing them.
To download and install it on your device, visit the relevant section of the Play Store and press the Install button (if your device lacks Google services, you can download the app from alternative stores). Then, launch Photo Compress 2.0 by selecting the relevant icon that has been added to the home screen and/or the drawer.
Now that you see the main screen of the app, tap on the Gallery button, grant the app the required permissions and select the image to compress. Next, press the Resize button (to resize the image), the Crop button (to crop it) or the Compress button (to compress it), depending on your needs.
Then adjust the related options you are presented with and tap the button with the name of the operation you want to perform to apply the changes. Then tap the Exit button to save the edited JPG file to the Android Gallery.
How to reduce JPG size: iPhone
If, instead, you have an iPhone (or an iPad, it makes no difference), to reduce JPG I recommend using the Foto Compress app. This is a free application through which you can reduce the weight of images in a simple and fast way. It’s basically free, but in-app purchases are offered (at a base cost of €2.99) to remove advertising and unlock other extra features.
To download and install the app on your device, visit the relevant section of the App Store, press the Get button, then the Install button and authorize the download using Face ID, Touch ID or Apple ID password. Next, launch the app by selecting the relevant icon that has been added to your home screen and/or App Library.
Now that you’re viewing the app’s main screen, choose whether or not to allow notifications to be sent to you and tap on the Non-Personalized Ads button so that you can continue to use the app for free, displaying ads not based on your ID. Once you’ve made your choice, decline the installation of additional software by tapping the No thanks button.
To select the image you want to reduce, tap the (+) button located at the top and the Allow and Allow access to all photos buttons to authorize the app to access your stored images.
Then adjust the image quality by moving the slider on the bar under the heading Image Quality on the next screen and, if you want to adjust the actual size of your photos, move the slider on the bar under the heading Reduce image size to.
To finish, preview the final result by pressing the Preview button. If you are satisfied with it, tap the Continue button and proceed to save the compressed image directly to the iOS photo album.