# Compress screenshots and your original stays put.

> Shrink Retina screenshots from your Mac. Compress PNG in your browser with nothing uploaded, or use Smally for Mac for As WebP when it comes out lighter.

- URL: https://meetsmally.com/compress-screenshots/
- Language: en
- Spanish version: https://meetsmally.com/es/comprimir-capturas-de-pantalla/
- Site map for assistants: https://meetsmally.com/llms.txt

Drop a screenshot from your Mac and get a lighter PNG, made in this tab. Nothing is uploaded, and your original is never touched.

## 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.

## Why a Mac screenshot is heavy

macOS saves a screenshot as a PNG by default. On a Retina display the capture holds two pixels for every point of the screen in each direction, and a PNG keeps every pixel, so a full-screen capture can be heavy even when it only shows a window with text.

## What happens to your screenshot

Smally first repacks the PNG losslessly with oxipng: every pixel is identical. It also tries a copy with a 256-colour palette, built in the Oklab colour space, and offers the lighter of the two files. The palette helps most on screenshots, logos and icons with flat colours.

If a palette would change the picture beyond Smally's limits, it keeps the lossless file, which saves less. A screenshot of a photograph behaves like a photograph saved as PNG: Smally usually keeps the lossless file.

## Check the text before you keep it

- Press Preview on a finished row to drag a divider between the original and the copy.
- Double-click a spot to see it at 100 %, or use the 200 % button to read small text and thin lines.
- Download only the copies you like. The original is never changed.

## When As WebP helps

In Smally for Mac, the preview can also offer As WebP for some PNGs: a different format, shown only when it comes out lighter than the PNG copy. Browsers open WebP, but some older programs do not, so keep the PNG when a screenshot has to open everywhere. The browser version keeps each file in its own format.

## What stays the same

- Your original. Smally never changes it; the copy downloads as a new file, named like screenshot-smally.png.
- Transparency. A palette copy keeps the transparent areas of your PNG; if a palette would change them noticeably, Smally keeps the lossless file instead.
- Your privacy. The copy is made in this tab, on your device. Your files never leave this tab.

## Limits

Up to about 24 megapixels on most computers and 12 on a phone or a small computer, 5 files at a time, with Download All as one zip. Smally for Mac takes PNGs up to 40 megapixels and up to 50 files at a time.

## Quick facts

| This kind of file | Smally in the browser | Smally for Mac |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What it takes | PNG, JPEG and WebP, up to about 24 megapixels | PNG up to 40 megapixels, and JPEG, WebP, AVIF, HEIC, PDF and video |
| What it makes | A lossless oxipng repack, or a 256-colour palette copy when it is lighter | A PNG copy; for some PNGs, As WebP as well |
| What stays | Transparency; the original is never changed | The original is never changed |
| 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

- **Are my screenshots uploaded anywhere?** No. The copy is made in this tab, on your device. Your files never leave this tab.
- **Will the text in my screenshot stay readable?** A palette copy uses at most 256 colours, and Smally keeps the lossless file when a palette would change the picture beyond its limits. Compare the copy with the original in Preview, at 100 % or 200 %, before you download it.
- **Why did my screenshot barely get smaller?** A screenshot of a photograph, or with many colours, keeps the lossless file, which saves less. When a copy would not be at least 1% lighter, Smally keeps the original and says Already small.
- **Can I turn my screenshot into a WebP?** Smally for Mac can offer As WebP for some PNGs, only when it comes out lighter than the PNG copy. The browser version keeps PNG files as PNG.
- **How many screenshots can I compress at once?** Up to 5 files at a time in the browser, with Download All as one zip. Smally for Mac takes up to 50 files at a time.

## More

- [Compress PNG](https://meetsmally.com/compress-png/)
- [Compress WebP](https://meetsmally.com/compress-webp/)
- [Batch image compressor](https://meetsmally.com/batch-image-compressor/)

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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-screenshots/