How to Compress a Photo on iPhone: Quick Guide

Summary: Learn how to compress a photo on iPhone in 6 simple ways. Effortlessly reduce image size without compromising quality and get more storage space for your iPhone.

Most often, you prefer to view high-resolution photos on your iPhone. But actually, these photos are not easy to post on social media platforms or share with your friends via email.

Even worse, photos with large file sizes will take up lots of space on your iPhone, making it run slow. Thus it’s quite necessary to know how to compress a photo on iPhone to suit different needs.

In this blog, we’ve gathered 6 quick ways to help you compress images on iPhone. Now let’s get started to slim your photos.

Why Should Photos on iPhone Be Compressed?

• Free up storage space without deleting photos

The average iPhone photo is just under 3 MB in size, If you don’t have a habit of slimming your photo file sizes, you’ll end up with full storage quickly. Compressing images can get a smaller file size while maintaining the original photo on your iPhone.

• Save the space on iCloud

Photos and other data often need to be synced to iCloud for backup. But iCloud only offers consumers 5GB of free storage. Want to back up your photos without spending extra fees? You can compress your images for smaller file sizes before uploading them to iCloud.

• Increase your device’s running speed

Photos with large file sizes will take up lots of space on your device, making it run slow. Therefore, you can compress images to increase your device’s storage space, and as a result, your iPhone can run faster this way.

How to Compress Photos on iPhone

There are many ways to compress photos on iPhone. Below we’ve collected the 6 easiest and quickest methods. You can reduce photo file size by using the Optimize iPhone Storage option, saving it in Apple’s HEIC format, using the Mail app, cropping it with the Photos app, and using a photo compress app or an online image compressor. Let’s have a look one by one.

Method 1: Use Optimize iPhone Storage option

One of the greatest ways to reduce photo file size is to use the Optimize iPhone Storage option. This is a built-in function on iPhone that manages photo storage effortlessly. In this way, your photos can be optimized to look better on iPhone while taking less space. Meanwhile, the original full-resolution photos have been saved in iCloud, and you can view them at any time.

Here’s how to compress photos on iPhone using Optimize iPhone Storage option:

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.

2. Scroll down and find Photos.

3. Tap on the “Optimize iPhone Storage” option.

4. Now, full-resolution photos are automatically replaced with smaller, device-sized versions.

Method 2: Use an online image compressor

Online image compressors are web-based tools that allow you to reduce photo file size without installing any software. Fotor is an ideal image compressor. With its easy-to-use feature and advanced settings, you can compress images while retaining the high quality at your fingertips. Furthermore, Fotor supports batch image compression, which allows you to reduce multiple photo file sizes at a time. No extra fee, it’s 100% free!

Here’s how to compress a photo on iPhone using Fotor:

1. Click on the “Compress Images Now” button on the interface.

2. Upload or drag and drop the image you want to compress to our image compressor.

3. If you want to upload more than one picture, just tap on the “Upload Images” icon at the top.

4. Click on the “Start” button. Then Fotor will automatically and instantly compress your images to a smaller file size with high quality.

5. Once done, click on the “Download” icon to save the compressed pictures to your iPhone.

Method 3: Save photos in Apple's HEIC format

Another quick way to compress photos on iPhone is to save them in HEIC format. iOS 11 and later versions have introduced this new, industry-standard media format. It allows you to use less storage space on your devices and iCloud, while preserving the same visual quality.

To save photos in HEIC format on iPhone, you need to :

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Scroll down to find Camera.
3. At the top of the screen, tap Formats.
4. Tap “High Efficiency” to save your photos in HEIC format.

Method 4: Compress photos on iPhone via Mail app

Email has always been an effective way to share photos with friends and family. But you may surprisingly find that there is a compression feature included in iPhone’s Mail app. When you are sending photos to other people, iPhone will prompt that you can choose a size for the selected photo or keep the original file size.

Here’s how to compress a photo on iPhone via Mail app:

1. Open the Mail app on your iPhone.
2. Browse your photo library and choose the picture you want to reduce size.
3. Tap the "Share" icon and select "Mail" to share the chosen image.
4. Enter your email address and choose a desired photo size from the pop-up window. There are four types of file sizes to choose from: “Small”, “Medium”, “Large” and “Actual Size”.
5. Tap the "Send" button to send the compressed photo to your email. Then download the compressed photo to your iPhone and remove the original photo.

Method 5: Crop images in Photos app

The smaller a photo’s dimensions are, the smaller its file size will be. You can reduce photo file size by cropping out unnecessary parts. The Photos app on iPhone can help you automatically or manually crop images to get a smaller file size.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Open the Photos app on your iPhone.
2. Browse and select the photo you want to crop.
3. Tap the Edit icon at the top right corner.
4. Tap the Crop icon. It looks like a square circled with two arrows
5. Above the Done icon, you can see superposed squares, tap on it. This option offers preset crop sizes, which can automatically crop your images.
6. Choose the size you prefer. Also, you can manually crop the image. Just Tap the Crop icon, press and drag the corners and edges of the photo.
7. Tap Done. It will save to your camera roll.

Method 6: Use a third-party app

In addition to using the built-in features on iPhone, you can also resort to a third-party app to compress images. Here we recommend the Compress Photos & Pictures app. You can launch it from the Apple Store. This app brings much convenience since it can compress your images locally on your iPhone without using the internet.

Below are the steps to compress images using Compress Photos & Pictures app:

1. Launch the Compress Photos & Pictures app on your iPhone.
2. Open the app and tap the “Select Photos to Compress” option on the main screen.
3. Select the photos you want to compress. Pay attention: you need to sign up for the Pro version if you want to compress more than 3 pictures.
4. Tap Next.
5. Below the “Compression Settings”, you can move the sliders to adjust the photo quality and photo dimensions. You’re recommended to use a setting of 80% to maintain a good-quality image.
6. Tap Compress.
7. Once the compression is done, you can choose to either delete or keep the original picture.

FAQs：

1. How can I see photo size on an iPhone？

To check your photo’s file size, just view the photo from your Photos app and tap the blue “i” icon on the screen. You can also swipe up the image to view the camera information, which includes the photo’s file size.

2. How to make a photo smaller on an iPhone without cropping?

To make a photo smaller on your iPhone without cropping, try the methods as follows:

• reduce your photo file size by using the Optimize iPhone Storage option.(Settings > Photos > Optimize iPhone Storage)

• Use an online image compressor (web app), like Fotor.

• Save your photo in Apple’s HEIC format. (Settings > Camera > Formats > High Efficiency)

• Compress your photo by sending it in an email with the Mail app (create new email > Insert photo > tap send > select size)

• Use a photo compressor app from the App Store, like Compress Photos & Pictures.

Wrapping Up

Above we have explored a quick guide on how to compress a photo on iPhone. 6 ways are mentioned. Choose the way that best aligns with your needs and preferences. By adopting these ways and following the detailed steps, you can effortlessly reduce photo file size to free up your iPhone’s storage space without sacrificing image quality.

Try now to give your iPhone a better performance.