How to Compress Photos on iPhone and Android Without Installing an App
Updated October 28, 2026 · 3 min read
Works in Safari and Chrome on any phone — tap "Select images", pick from your gallery, download the result.
Phones shoot gorgeous 12–48 megapixel photos that are 3–8 MB each. That is far too large for a form upload, a WhatsApp group, an e-mail to grandparents, or a marketplace listing. Here are the ways to shrink them with what is already on your phone.
iPhone
Option 1: Mail's built-in size picker
Attach a photo to a new e-mail in the Mail app. When you tap Send, iOS asks Small / Medium / Large / Actual Size. "Medium" turns a 4 MB photo into roughly 200–400 KB. Send it to yourself to get the smaller copy.
Works for e-mail only, and you don't control the exact size.
Option 2: Shortcuts (one-time setup)
Open Shortcuts → + → Add Action → "Resize Image", set a width (e.g. 1600), then add "Convert Image" to JPEG with a quality, then "Save to Photo Album". Enable "Show in Share Sheet". From then on you can share any photo to the shortcut. Powerful, but fiddly to set up and no file-size target.
Option 3: A web tool in Safari (no install)
Open imagescompress.com in Safari, tap Select images, choose photos from your library (up to 20 at once), set a width or a KB limit, and download. The compressed files land in Files → Downloads, and you can save them back to Photos from there. This is the only method that lets you say "under 100 KB" and get exactly that.
Tip: HEIC vs JPEG
iPhones save photos as HEIC by default. Many forms reject HEIC. Either switch Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible (shoots JPEG), or let the compressor convert — HEIC in, JPEG out is handled automatically.
Android
Option 1: Google Photos "Save a copy" and share options
Google Photos re-compresses when you share through some apps, but doesn't let you choose a size. Samsung Gallery has Edit → Resize image (Samsung phones only), with percentage options.
Option 2: Files by Google
Doesn't compress images itself, but it's where downloaded compressed copies appear, and it can zip them for sending.
Option 3: Chrome + web tool
Open imagescompress.com in Chrome, tap Select images, pick photos (the file picker shows Gallery, Downloads, Drive), set a size or KB target, download. Results go to the Download folder and show up in Gallery under Downloads.
WhatsApp, Telegram, Messenger
Messaging apps compress photos automatically when sent as "photo" (usually to ~1600 px and 100–300 KB). To send the full file, choose "Document" instead. If you want a smaller file but not the app's aggressive compression, compress to your own target first and send as a document.
Which settings to use
| Purpose | Width | Quality / target |
|---|---|---|
| Form or portal upload | 1000–1200 px | target 100–200 KB |
| Marketplace listing | 1600 px | quality 80 |
| E-mail to family | 1600 px | quality 75 |
| Keep for print later | don't compress — keep the original |
Keep the originals
Compression is one-way. Keep the original in Photos/Gallery and only send the compressed copy. On both platforms the web tool never touches the original — it creates a new file.
Reduce the file size of JPG/JPEG photos by up to 90% while keeping them visually identical. Adjust quality, resize and batch-download as ZIP.