How to Reduce Photo Size on iPhone (4 Free Ways)

Which method should I use?

How do I make a photo smaller in Mail on iPhone?

Mail can scale photos down as you send them. It offers four sizes and shows the resulting message size next to each one, so you can pick by megabytes rather than guess. The resized copy only goes into the email; the photo in your library stays full size.

1. In Photos, select one or more photos, tap Share, then Mail (or add them from Mail's compose window).
2. Fill in the recipient and subject, then tap Send.
3. When Mail asks how to size the images, choose Small, Medium, Large or Actual Size.

Small and Medium shrink the long side to about 320 and 640 pixels: fine for a quick look, too small to print. Large keeps much more detail and is usually the right choice when the recipient has an attachment limit. The choice applies to every photo in the message. For more options see how to reduce photo size for email.

How do I resize photos with the Shortcuts app?

Shortcuts is Apple's free automation app, preinstalled on every iPhone. Two built-in actions do the work: Resize Image sets the pixel width, and Convert Image saves as JPEG with a Quality slider and a Preserve Metadata switch. Build it once and reuse it.

1. Open Shortcuts, tap +, and add the action Select Photos (turn on Select Multiple for batches).
2. Add Resize Image and set the width to 1600, leaving the height on Auto Height.
3. Add Convert Image, choose JPEG, set Quality to around 70%, and turn off Preserve Metadata to remove location and camera data.
4. Add Save to Photo Album and name the shortcut, for example “Shrink photo”.
5. Run it from the Shortcuts app. To run it from the Share button in Photos instead, turn on Show in Share Sheet in the shortcut's details; the shared photos then replace Select Photos.

A 1600 px JPEG at 70% quality is typically 200–500 KB and still looks sharp on any phone or laptop screen. Use 1200 px for smaller files, or 2048 px if the photo may be printed.

Does changing the camera format make photos smaller?

Yes, but only for photos you take after the change. Open Settings > Camera > Formats. Two settings there decide how big each new photo is:

• Camera Capture: High Efficiency saves photos as HEIF (.heic) and video as HEVC. HEIF files are often around half the size of the same photo as JPEG.
• Camera Capture: Most Compatible saves JPEG and H.264. The files open everywhere but are larger. Some video modes, such as 4K at 60 fps, need High Efficiency.
• Photo Mode (iPhone 15 and later) chooses between 12 MP and 24 MP. 12 MP has half the pixels, so files are noticeably smaller; 24 MP is the default.

How do I compress a photo to a specific size, like 100 KB, on iPhone?

Mail and Shortcuts let you choose pixels and quality, but not a file size. When a form says “max 100 KB” or “under 1 MB”, use a compressor that targets the size for you. Fast WebP Converter runs inside Safari: the photo is processed on the iPhone and is never uploaded.

1. Open fastwebpconverter.com/compress in Safari.
2. Tap to add photos and pick them from your photo library. HEIC photos come out as JPG.
3. Choose Target size and type the limit, for example 100 KB. Or leave it on quality and start around 75.
4. Optional: turn on Limit width and enter 1600 if you also want fewer pixels.
5. Tap download. Safari saves the file to Files > Downloads; open it there, tap Share, then Save Image to put it in Photos.

The tool finds the highest quality that fits under your target, and only scales the photo down if it cannot fit otherwise. It also removes location (GPS) and camera data from the copy. It is free for a single image, with nothing to install.

Typical iPhone photo sizes

To see the real size of any photo, open it in Photos and swipe up: the panel shows the format, megapixels, pixel dimensions and file size. More on that in how to check image file size and dimensions.