What this compressor does differently
Almost every browser-based image compressor — including the general one on this site — redraws the image through a canvas, which throws away the EXIF block: camera model, lens, exposure settings, date taken, GPS location and copyright. For sharing on social media that is fine or even preferable. For a photographer's archive, a client delivery, a stock submission or an insurance claim, the metadata is part of the file. This tool re-encodes the JPG at the quality you choose and then copies the original EXIF segment back into the compressed file, so the picture is smaller and the metadata is intact. It runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
How it works
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1. Read EXIF | The APP1 segment containing the EXIF data is extracted from the original file's bytes |
| 2. Decode and re-encode | The image is decoded, drawn to a canvas, and encoded as JPEG at your chosen quality |
| 3. Re-insert EXIF | The saved APP1 segment is written into the new JPEG immediately after the file header |
| 4. Compare | Original size, compressed size and percentage reduction are shown |
Because the EXIF is copied as a block, every tag survives — including maker notes and embedded thumbnails — with one caveat: the orientation tag. The canvas applies the orientation when drawing, so the output pixels are already upright, and the tool resets the orientation tag to normal so viewers do not rotate the image a second time.
When to keep EXIF — and when not to
- Keep it for your own photo library, deliveries to clients who need capture data, stock and competition submissions that require it, documentation and evidence photos, and any image where the date and camera matter.
- Strip it (use the ordinary Image Compressor) for anything published where you do not want to reveal location, equipment or timing — marketplace listings, social posts, forum uploads, images of your home or family.
- If unsure, check what the file contains with the EXIF Data Reader first.
Choosing a quality level
- 0.9 — archive-grade: no visible difference, typically 30–50% smaller than a camera or phone JPG.
- 0.8 — delivery-grade: visually identical at normal viewing size, 50–70% smaller.
- 0.7 — web-grade: slight softening in fine texture; fine for galleries and previews.
- Because the source is already a JPG, this is a second generation of compression. Stay at or above 0.8 for images you may edit or print later.
Common uses
- Shrinking a shoot before archiving to cloud storage while keeping capture details searchable.
- Sending client proofs that retain copyright and contact fields.
- Reducing photos for a portfolio site that displays EXIF beside each image.
- Preparing images for photo competitions and stock agencies that check for camera data.
- Compressing site or incident photos for a report where timestamps and GPS are evidence.
Limits
- Works on JPG input only, since EXIF handling is JPEG-specific. PNG, WebP and HEIC use different metadata containers.
- The colour profile (ICC) is not carried over; output is sRGB. Photos in Adobe RGB or Display P3 may shift slightly in saturated colours.
- XMP and IPTC blocks (captions, keywords added by Lightroom) are separate segments; only the EXIF APP1 segment is preserved.
- Dimensions are unchanged. Resize first if you also need a smaller pixel size — but note the general resizer strips EXIF; resize, then use this tool with the original's EXIF is not possible in one step here.