# Compress JPEG and your original stays put.

> Compress JPEG and JPG photos online, up to about 24 megapixels, in your browser. Your photo stays on your device and the original is never touched.

- URL: https://meetsmally.com/compress-jpeg/
- Language: en
- Spanish version: https://meetsmally.com/es/comprimir-jpg/
- Site map for assistants: https://meetsmally.com/llms.txt

Drop a JPEG or JPG and get a lighter copy, made in this tab with jpegli and a lossless repack. Everything stays on your device.

## How it works

1. **Drag your file in.** Drop your file on the drop zone above, or choose it with the file picker. Nothing is uploaded.
2. **Compare the original and the copy.** Press Preview on the finished row, drag the divider between the original and the copy, and look at it at 100 % or 200 %.
3. **Download the lighter copy.** Download the copy you like. Your original stays untouched, and a copy is offered only when it is lighter.

## What happens to your JPEG

Smally makes one lighter copy of your JPEG with jpegli, a modern JPEG encoder, at a fixed setting. It also tries a lossless repack of the same pixels with jpegtran, and keeps that one when it comes out nearly as light, because it changes nothing in the picture.

Photos come out upright. A copy is offered only when it is at least 1% lighter than the original; otherwise the row says Already small and nothing is offered.

## What stays the same

- Your original. Smally never changes it; the copy downloads as a new file, named like photo-smally.jpg.
- Your choice. Press Preview on a finished row to drag a divider between the original and the copy, and double-click a spot to see it at 100 %. Download only the copies you like.
- Your privacy. The copy is made in this tab, on your device. Your files never leave this tab.

## How big a JPEG can it take

Up to about 24 megapixels on most computers, and up to about 12 on a phone, a tablet, or a computer whose browser reports 4 GB of memory or less or two processor cores or fewer. Up to 5 files at a time, with Download All as one zip.

Smally for Mac takes JPEGs up to 40 megapixels, 50 files at a time.

## Quick facts

| This kind of file | Smally in the browser | Smally for Mac |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What it takes | JPEG and JPG, up to about 24 megapixels (about 12 on a phone or a small computer) | JPEG, up to 40 megapixels |
| What it makes | One lighter JPEG with jpegli, or a lossless jpegtran repack | One lighter copy, saved next to the original |
| What stays | The original; photos come out upright | The original; photos come out upright |
| Per batch | Up to 5 files at a time, 50 MB each, with Download All as one zip | Up to 50 files at a time |
| Where it is processed | In this tab, on your device. Nothing is uploaded | On your Mac. Nothing is uploaded |
| When the original is kept | A copy would not be at least 1% lighter | A copy would not be at least 1% lighter |

## Questions

- **Is my JPEG uploaded anywhere?** No. The copy is made in this tab, on your device. Your files never leave this tab.
- **Is JPG the same as JPEG?** Yes. JPG and JPEG are the same format, and both .jpg and .jpeg files work here.
- **Will the compressed JPEG look different?** A lighter JPEG is a lossy copy, so its pixels change a little. Compare it with the original in Preview before you download it, and keep the original: Smally never replaces it.
- **Why did my JPEG stay the same?** Photos that are already small or already saved at a low quality often cannot get at least 1% lighter. Smally then keeps the original and says Already small.
- **What about HEIC photos from an iPhone?** The browser version does not open HEIC. Smally for Mac does, and can save an As JPEG copy that opens everywhere.

## More

- [Compress PNG](https://meetsmally.com/compress-png/)
- [Compress WebP](https://meetsmally.com/compress-webp/)
- [HEIC to JPG](https://meetsmally.com/heic-to-jpg/)

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Smally in the browser. Smally for Mac 0.16.0 (build 35, beta) needs Apple silicon and macOS 26 or later; download: https://downloads.meetsmally.com/latest. Files are never uploaded. Source of truth: https://meetsmally.com/compress-jpeg/