With the arrival of high-resolution cameras on our mobile devices, we have become accustomed to store huge amounts of photos and videos. What used to be a few albums on a shelf are now gigabytes of files that are stored on our phones and computers. Wouldn’t it be ideal if there were a way to compress photos while keeping their quality to the maximum? At Malavida we think so and, therefore, we give you some recommendations in this regard.
How to optimize your photos with Google Photos
We start this guide with a popular, simple and accessible solution for everyone. Google Photos comes pre-installed on most Android devices. However, if you can’t find it, you can easily download its APK and install it using the link below.
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Android
free
When it is available on your device, all you have to do is open it. If it asks you to sign in with your Google account, do so. Only then can you get the most out of this application. Then, go to the settings, clicking on your profile photo.
Google Photos options
Tap on Account storage.
Storage settings
Activate the slider that you will see next to Back up & sync. In this way, you will start the automatic backup in the cloud.
Activate backup
Now, head over to Upload size.
Upload settings
To finish, tap on High quality.
High Quality Mode in Google Photos
From now on, Google Photos will compress your images and upload them to the cloud. Thus, you will be able to enjoy your memories anywhere, freeing up storage space on your terminal and with an invaluable loss of quality.
How to reduce the size of your images with JPEG Optimizer
If the Google Photos solution doesn’t convince you, you can use JPEG Optimizer. This software is specialized in the optimization of photographs, with an almost testimonial quality loss. To download this application for free, click on the button Download that you will see next.
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Android
free
When you are on its main screen, tap on the lower right button.
Open file browser to select images
Using the file browser, select the photos you want to compress.
Select images to compress
When you finish, JPEG Optimizer will read all the images you have chosen and will show you the total size of the original files and the final size, once the compression has been applied.
Preview compression results
If you’re satisfied, tap on the save button, represented by a floppy disk icon. Choose the format that best suits your needs.
Start compression in JPEG Optimizer
Immediately, the optimized version of your images will be saved on your device’s internal storage. Remember that the resolution of your photos will remain the same, unless you tell JPEG Optimizer otherwise.
How to Compress Photos on Android with Lit Photo Compress & Resize
The third alternative of this compilation is Lit Photo Compress & Resize. It is true that it works in a very similar way to JPEG Optimizer, but it has a more functional and simple interface.
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Android
free
When you have it installed on your phone, open it and click on Compress photos.
Compress images with Lit Photo
Select the files you want to compress.
Files to compress
Make some compression adjustments. You can modify the final quality, indicate if you want to keep the original resolution or put a size limit on the resulting file. Don’t forget that, to get more compression, you will need to lower the quality. Setting the quality to 100% also compresses the image, although to a lesser extent. In any case, adjust this value based on your needs. To start the process, tap on Start compressing.
Start image compression
When finished, you will receive a report showing the final size of the file.
Compression results
Compressed images are stored in the internal memory of the device. Access them with a file explorer or with the gallery application on your phone.
How to reduce the size of photos using WinZip for Android
Finally, we talk about WinZip, a perfect application to reduce the total size of your photos without compromising their quality. Thanks to ZIP compression, you will gather a large number of photos in a single file, facilitating the creation of backup copies on external hard drives or in the cloud. The first step is to download and install WinZip. You can do it through the link you have below.
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Android
free
Then open WinZip and tap on Internal storage. Navigate to the folder where the images you want to compress are located.
Internal storage in WinZip
Once the file selection is done, click on the compression icon.
Compression button
Again, use the built-in file explorer to locate yourself in the directory where you want to save the ZIP-compressed folder. Uses Zip here to start the process.
WinRAR Zip Here Option
Give the ZIP file a name and tap on okay.
Save ZIP file
When the compression is finished, the file will be available in the chosen folder. If you want to recover your images, all you have to do is extract them. This method is especially useful for backing up a large number of images. Furthermore, it does not affect the quality of the photos at all. But, it is important that you know that the most effective compression is achieved by selecting a greater number of files.
Which image format is better and has higher quality?
After knowing the best tools to compress images, it is necessary that we make you some notes regarding the formats. If you are looking for a higher quality, you should opt for PNG or PDF files. Neither of them compresses the images they contain, allowing the original quality to be preserved as much as possible. On the contrary, they are usually heavy files, which take up a lot of space and are not recommended for the web or to send by email.
If you are looking for a balanced format, with the maximum ratio between quality and size, opt for JPG graphics. The compression it offers is very high, which ensures that the final size is low and, in parallel, reduces the quality almost imperceptibly. On the other hand, if you are looking to present animated objects, you should use GIF. Of course, it usually has a very poor quality.
To finish, we will talk about another highly efficient format, which is used especially on internet pages. This is the WEBP, which was launched in 2010 and is being developed by Google. In this case, the premise is to minimize the weight of the file so that the loading of a website is as fast as possible.
