What is the fastest way to free up photo storage?
Change the settings that decide how photos are stored before compressing anything by hand. They apply to thousands of photos at once and, in the iCloud case, keep the full-quality original safe. Then compress the folders that settings do not reach, such as old camera JPEGs on a drive.
Approximate savings; the exact figure depends on the photos.
| Option | What it does | Typical saving | Can you undo it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone High Efficiency (HEIC) | Saves new photos as HEIC instead of JPEG | Roughly half the size of JPEG | Applies to new photos only |
| Optimize iPhone Storage | Keeps full-resolution originals in iCloud and smaller copies on the iPhone | Grows as the phone fills up | Yes, originals stay in iCloud |
| Google Photos Storage saver | Compresses backups; photos over 16 MP become 16 MP, videos over 1080p become 1080p | Varies; largest on high-megapixel photos | No, for the compressed cloud copy |
| Re-save JPEGs at quality 80–85 | Re-encodes each photo at the same dimensions | Often 50–70% on camera JPEGs | No, so keep originals of important photos |
| Resize to about 12 MP (4000 × 3000) | Removes pixels | About half of a 24 MP photo, three quarters of a 48 MP one | No |
How do I save photo storage on an iPhone?
First, check Settings > Camera > Formats and keep High Efficiency selected: photos are saved as HEIC, which takes much less space than JPEG for the same quality. Then, if you use iCloud Photos, go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Photos and turn on Optimize iPhone Storage (in iOS 27 it sits under iPhone Storage on that screen). Full-resolution originals stay in iCloud and the iPhone keeps space-saving copies, downloading originals when you need them. Do not convert HEIC photos to JPEG to save space: the JPEG is usually bigger. More steps in reduce photo size on iPhone.
How do I save storage in Google Photos?
Switch the backup quality from Original quality to Storage saver: photos are compressed, those over 16 megapixels are resized to 16 MP, and videos above 1080p become 1080p. On a computer, open photos.google.com/settings and select the backup quality; in the app, it is under Photos settings, in the backup options. Storage saver uploads still count toward your Google Account storage, just less of it. To shrink what is already backed up, Manage storage offers to convert existing photos and videos to Storage saver; Google warns that this cannot be undone. On Android, the app's Free up space option then removes device copies that are safely backed up; see reduce photo size on Android.
How do I compress an archive of JPEG photos?
Cameras and older phones save JPEGs at high quality, so an archive on a drive or in a cloud folder can usually be re-saved at quality 80–85 without a visible difference. Do it in batches, check a few results at full size, and only then replace the originals.
- Copy the folder first, and set aside the photos you could never retake (weddings, family, scans of old prints); keep those untouched.
- Open Compress JPG and drop up to 100 photos. They are processed on your computer or phone, not uploaded.
- Keep Same as original and set Quality to 80–85. Leave Limit width off to keep full resolution, or set 4000 px if you only view the photos on screens.
- Compare a few photos at 100% zoom with the originals, especially skies and skin tones.
- Download and replace the copies. Note that the compressor removes metadata, including the date taken and GPS location, so keep the originals if you sort photos by date.
What about photos I share by message or email?
Shared copies do not need full resolution. A 2000 px JPEG at quality 80 is usually a few hundred KB and looks sharp on any phone. For a strict size limit, use a target size such as 1 MB, and see reduce photo size for email for attachment limits.