How to Reduce Photo Size on iPhone, iPad, and Mac

Parth Shah is an evergreen freelance writer covering how-tos, app guides, comparisons, listicles, and troubleshooting guides on Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, and smart TV platforms. He has over five years of experience and has covered 1,500+ articles on GuidingTech and Android Police. In his free time, you will see him binge-watching Netflix shows, reading books, and traveling.

Arshmeet has been a tech tinkerer since childhood, but she realized her love for technology and writing about 5 years ago. Since then, she has been honing her skills and helping people figure out how things work, troubleshoot problems, choose the right app and products, and dig deep into the new and old concepts of technology. She is a self-professed Apple Enthusiast who loves debating what’s good and what’s not. It is her passion for finding techniques, hacks, apps, and products that make everyday life simpler.

How to Reduce Photo Size on iPhone and iPad,

Method 1. Crop an Image in the Photos App

You can crop an image, remove unwanted parts from the image, and reduce the file size.

Step 1:Open thePhotos app. Select theimage.

Step 2:TapEditat the top and selectCrop. You can use the default templates to crop an image in a specific aspect ratio. Make necessary adjustments and tapDone.

In our testing, we cropped an image and reduced the image size from 2.1 MB to 1.1 MB.

Method 2. Use the Shortcuts App to Reduce Photo Size

You can use a shortcut to reduce image size with a single tap.

Step 1:Add theChange Image Quality & Share shortcutto your Shortcuts app.

Step 2:The shortcut appears under the All Shortcuts tab.Openit.

Step 3:Select pictures from the following menu. TapAddand select theimage quality(Low, Medium, or High).

Step 4:Allow the shortcut to add compressed images to the Photos app. TapSave Imagefrom the bottom menu.

You can also create a custom shortcut to resize an image with a specific width and height. Although, the above shortcut should be sufficient for most.

Method 3. Change File Format From Camera Settings (for Future Photos)

The most common form of picture and video formats might be why your camera pictures are taking up so much space. Apple introduced the High-Efficiency Image Container (HEIC) format as an alternative to JPEG and PNG.

HEIC offers high-quality images in a smaller size. Follow the steps below to change the camera capture format to HEIC.

Step 1:Open theSettings appon the iPhone. Scroll down to theCamerasection.

Step 2:Navigate toFormatsand selectHigh Efficiencyfrom the following menu.

Now, Apple will use the HEIC format to shoot pictures, which saves space and reduces photo file size. However, these pictures still weigh a couple of MB.

Tip: For the existing images, you canconvert JPG images to HEIC on iPhoneeasily.

Method 4. Use the Apple Mail App

The default Mail app has another handy feature to make iPhone pictures smaller in size.

Step 1:Open animagein the Photos app. TapShareand selectMail.

Step 2:Enter youremail addressand hitSend. Mail lets you reduce message size by scaling the image.

Step 3:TapSmall, Medium, or Large. Open theMailanddownloadthe resized image to your phone.

Method 5. Compress Photos Using Instant Messaging Apps

Have you noticed how most social media file sizes are smaller than typical files? When you upload a picture on social media and re-download it, the size reduces drastically.

What’s more? You can message yourself on WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, etc., so there is no need to share the images with others. You can apply this method to both photos andvideos to reduce their size on your iPhone. Let’s take WhatsApp as an example.

Step 1:OpenWhatsAppand tap thecompose buttonat the top.Message yourselffrom the following menu.

Step 2:Tap+and selectphotos & videos Libraryon WhatsApp. Then, select themedia.

Step 3:Open the sent photo, hitShare, and selectSaveto download the compressed file.

Method 6. Compress All iPhone Images via iCloud

This method is the best way to reduce the photo size of all images on your device. However, it’s only applicable if you use iCloud to back up your photos.

The settings basically optimize the photos and videos on your device (lowering their quality and, hence, size) while the originals are secured on the cloud.

Step 1: Go toSettings→Photos.

Step 2: Scroll and selectOptimize iPhone Storage.

Method 7. Check Third-Party Apps

The Image Size app allows you to resize an image to whatever size you like quickly and easily. You can specify the output format using one of the following four measurement units: pixels, millimeters, centimeters, and inches. Go through the steps below.

Step 1:DownloadImage Size. Open the app and permit it to access the library.

Step 2:Select thePhotofrom the Photos app.

Step 3:SelectPixelfrom the above menu and enter the desiredWidthandHeightfor the photo.

If you find third-party apps more comfortable,Compress Photosis another effective option to reduce image file size on iPhone.

How to Compress Photos on Mac

Compressing photos on a Mac doesn’t require third-party apps. The built-in methods should be enough for most Mac users.

Method 1. Use Preview to Compress Pictures on Mac

You can use the Preview app to reduce one or several images simultaneously. But first, send photos from your iPhone to your Mac using AirDrop or opt for iCloud, Google Photos, or OneDrive.

Notably, you can also change the image file type using this method. Go through the steps below.

Step 1:Open theimageusing the default Image preview on Mac.

Step 2:Go toFileon the menu bar. SelectExportfrom the following menu.

Step 3:macOS will ask you to select the location and file type. Below the file type option, you will have a Quality slider to reduce the image size.

Step 1:Select severalimagesin Finder and open them in thePreview app.

Step 2:Press theCommand + Akeys and selectall photos. ClickToolsand open theAdjust Sizemenu.

Step 3:Change width and height, check the resulting size, and hitOK.

Method 2. Use Mac’s Photos App

The Photos app comes with an Export tool that helps you reduce the photo size in quick steps.

Step 1:Launch thePhotos appon Mac and selectimage/images. ClickFileat the top.

Step 2:ExpandExportand selectExport x photo.

Step 3:Expand theSize menuand select a relevant size. You can also selectCustomand set a specific width.

Step 4:HitExportand pick a specific folder in Finder to save the image.

Method 3. Use Image Resizer Shortcut

The above-mentioned Siri shortcut is available on Mac too. You can use the same link to open the shortcut and clickGet Shortcut→Add Shortcut.

Step 1:Open theShortcuts appon Mac. Select theChange Image Quality & Shareshortcut.

Step 2:Select thepictureand hitAdd.

Step 3:Selectimage qualitysize. Next, clickDone.

Step 4:Allow the app to save the image to thePhotos appon Mac.

Method 4. Check Online Tools

There is no shortage of online tools to reduce image size on Mac. Photostack is one such tool to compress bulk images with a single click.

Step 1:VisitPhotostack.Drag and drop imagesfrom the Finder app.

Step 2:Set the image width, add a border (if you prefer), change the image format, and set quality.

Step 3:HitExportto download compressed images on Mac.

Method 5. Try Third-Party Apps

PhotoScape Xis a capable image editor to compress pictures on Mac. It’s free to download and use.

Step 1:OpenPhotoScape Xon Mac. Givenecessary permissionto access the device storage.

Step 2:SelectBatchat the top.Drag and drop imagesfrom Finder or the side menu. ClickSave.

Step 3:Use the slider to reduce the photo size, confirm the output folder, and clickOK.

You can also add a filter, change the width, and make other necessary changes before saving the photos to Mac.

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Last updated on 26 August, 2024

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