There is no straightforward method to resize your images on your Apple device. Thankfully, several workarounds help you reduce the file size of the photos on your iPhone or iPad. I’ll outline them all for you below.

Crop image in Photos app Change file format in iPhone camera settings Use Shortcuts app to compress images on iPhone Use Apple Mail to reduce images size Use instant messaging apps Third-party apps to reduce image file size

Reasons to change photo file size

By resizing your photos, you can save a lot of storage space on your device. This is especially useful since iPhones and iPads do not have expandable memory.  Making your images smaller also helps when you have to send them over email or share them with others via messaging apps. Reducing your image’s file size may also be necessary when uploading to specific sites.

Crop image in Photos app to reduce file size

Open the Photos app → tap the image you want → Edit → crop/rotate icon at the bottom of the screen. Trimming your image a bit may help lower your photo’s image resolution. The Photos app allows you to crop your image to several aspect ratios, but you can also manually crop them.

Change file format in iPhone camera settings

The best way to avoid all the hassle of having to compress or reduce the file size of your iPhone and iPad photos is to take pictures with small file sizes.  Devices running on iOS 11 and later automatically take heigh-efficiency image format (HEIF) instead of JPEG. The former file size is smaller than JPEG but offers the same quality. Your iPhone or iPad takes images in this file size, but if you unknowingly changed it, here’s how you can re-enable it: The downside is that HEIF/HEIC isn’t as universally compatible as JPEG. So you may need to convert your photos to a different image format.

Use Shortcuts app to compress images on iPhone

The Shortcuts app is a goldmine for a ton of valuable automation. You have the option to create your own shortcut or download one instead. I’ll discuss both below.

Download a prebuilt shortcut

If you don’t want the hassle of creating your own shortcut (method mentioned below), downloading a premade shortcut is wiser and much easier. To begin:

Make your own photo resize shortcut

Creating your own shortcut lets you reduce the image file size on your iPhone or iPad according to  your preference; plus promises to be a more secure and private method: To run the shortcut, select an image from your Photo Library. Tap the Share icon on the bottom of your screen. Scroll all the way down and choose Resize Images. A prompt will notify you that your image was successfully resized. 

Use Apple Mail to reduce images size

Another option is to make the photos smaller without the need to crop them. You can quickly reduce the file size of your images by sending them using Apple Mail. Here’s how:

Use instant messaging apps to compress the image

You may have already noticed, or at least got frustrated at how most messaging apps drastically reduce the resolution and quality of the photo you upload? You can do the same to your photos that need some resizing.  Just send photos to yourself on any instant messaging app you use, like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Facebook Messenger. You can also do the same method to shrink the size of your videos. 

Third-party iOS apps to reduce image file size

There are also plenty of third-party apps that you can try. Below, I’ll discuss the most trusted options.

1. Image Size

Price: Free (Offers In-App Purchases) Ratings: 4.7/5 (24.6K Ratings) Compatible devices: iPhone, iPad, Mac and iPod Touch

An app like Image Size allows you to easily resize your iPad or iPhone’s photo into whatever size you want. 

2. Compress Photos & Pictures

Price: Free (Offers In-App Purchases) Ratings: 4.7/5 (15.6K Ratings) Compatible devices: iPhone, iPad, Mac and iPod Touch

Compress Photos & Pictures is another app that helps you quickly resize your images. What’s good about this app is that it compresses your iPhone and iPad photos without needing an internet connection. I hope I was able to help you out with this tutorial—let me know if you’ve found any other way of compressing photos on your iPhone or iPad. Save space on your device or increase the file size and get your memories printed—it’s up to you now.

Video: Resize or reduce photo file size on iPhone

Wrapping up… You may need to reduce the size of photos on your iPhone or iPad to salvage some more storage space on your device. It may also help you transfer your images from one device to another or share them with people and friends. Whatever your reason is, you may try one or more of the tips above so that you no longer have to worry about big file sizes and enjoy capturing more memories on your device. Get the most out of your iPhone with these reads:

How to delete all photos from iPhone and iPad How to use extensions in the Photos app on iPhone and iPad How to batch edit photos in Photos app (iPhone, iPad and Mac) Best image upscaler apps for iPhone, iPad and Mac How to reduce image file size on iPhone and iPad - 97How to reduce image file size on iPhone and iPad - 72How to reduce image file size on iPhone and iPad - 97How to reduce image file size on iPhone and iPad - 36How to reduce image file size on iPhone and iPad - 18How to reduce image file size on iPhone and iPad - 67How to reduce image file size on iPhone and iPad - 73How to reduce image file size on iPhone and iPad - 85How to reduce image file size on iPhone and iPad - 72How to reduce image file size on iPhone and iPad - 48How to reduce image file size on iPhone and iPad - 64


title: “How To Reduce Image File Size On Iphone And Ipad” ShowToc: true date: “2023-05-30” author: “Barbara Lim”


There is no straightforward method to resize your images on your Apple device. Thankfully, several workarounds help you reduce the file size of the photos on your iPhone or iPad. I’ll outline them all for you below.

Crop image in Photos app Change file format in iPhone camera settings Use Shortcuts app to compress images on iPhone Use Apple Mail to reduce images size Use instant messaging apps Third-party apps to reduce image file size

Reasons to change photo file size

By resizing your photos, you can save a lot of storage space on your device. This is especially useful since iPhones and iPads do not have expandable memory.  Making your images smaller also helps when you have to send them over email or share them with others via messaging apps. Reducing your image’s file size may also be necessary when uploading to specific sites.

Crop image in Photos app to reduce file size

Open the Photos app → tap the image you want → Edit → crop/rotate icon at the bottom of the screen. Trimming your image a bit may help lower your photo’s image resolution. The Photos app allows you to crop your image to several aspect ratios, but you can also manually crop them.

Change file format in iPhone camera settings

The best way to avoid all the hassle of having to compress or reduce the file size of your iPhone and iPad photos is to take pictures with small file sizes.  Devices running on iOS 11 and later automatically take heigh-efficiency image format (HEIF) instead of JPEG. The former file size is smaller than JPEG but offers the same quality. Your iPhone or iPad takes images in this file size, but if you unknowingly changed it, here’s how you can re-enable it: The downside is that HEIF/HEIC isn’t as universally compatible as JPEG. So you may need to convert your photos to a different image format.

Use Shortcuts app to compress images on iPhone

The Shortcuts app is a goldmine for a ton of valuable automation. You have the option to create your own shortcut or download one instead. I’ll discuss both below.

Download a prebuilt shortcut

If you don’t want the hassle of creating your own shortcut (method mentioned below), downloading a premade shortcut is wiser and much easier. To begin:

Make your own photo resize shortcut

Creating your own shortcut lets you reduce the image file size on your iPhone or iPad according to  your preference; plus promises to be a more secure and private method: To run the shortcut, select an image from your Photo Library. Tap the Share icon on the bottom of your screen. Scroll all the way down and choose Resize Images. A prompt will notify you that your image was successfully resized. 

Use Apple Mail to reduce images size

Another option is to make the photos smaller without the need to crop them. You can quickly reduce the file size of your images by sending them using Apple Mail. Here’s how:

Use instant messaging apps to compress the image

You may have already noticed, or at least got frustrated at how most messaging apps drastically reduce the resolution and quality of the photo you upload? You can do the same to your photos that need some resizing.  Just send photos to yourself on any instant messaging app you use, like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Facebook Messenger. You can also do the same method to shrink the size of your videos. 

Third-party iOS apps to reduce image file size

There are also plenty of third-party apps that you can try. Below, I’ll discuss the most trusted options.

1. Image Size

Price: Free (Offers In-App Purchases) Ratings: 4.7/5 (24.6K Ratings) Compatible devices: iPhone, iPad, Mac and iPod Touch

An app like Image Size allows you to easily resize your iPad or iPhone’s photo into whatever size you want. 

2. Compress Photos & Pictures

Price: Free (Offers In-App Purchases) Ratings: 4.7/5 (15.6K Ratings) Compatible devices: iPhone, iPad, Mac and iPod Touch

Compress Photos & Pictures is another app that helps you quickly resize your images. What’s good about this app is that it compresses your iPhone and iPad photos without needing an internet connection. I hope I was able to help you out with this tutorial—let me know if you’ve found any other way of compressing photos on your iPhone or iPad. Save space on your device or increase the file size and get your memories printed—it’s up to you now.

Video: Resize or reduce photo file size on iPhone

Wrapping up… You may need to reduce the size of photos on your iPhone or iPad to salvage some more storage space on your device. It may also help you transfer your images from one device to another or share them with people and friends. Whatever your reason is, you may try one or more of the tips above so that you no longer have to worry about big file sizes and enjoy capturing more memories on your device. Get the most out of your iPhone with these reads:

How to delete all photos from iPhone and iPad How to use extensions in the Photos app on iPhone and iPad How to batch edit photos in Photos app (iPhone, iPad and Mac) Best image upscaler apps for iPhone, iPad and Mac How to reduce image file size on iPhone and iPad - 76How to reduce image file size on iPhone and iPad - 43How to reduce image file size on iPhone and iPad - 32How to reduce image file size on iPhone and iPad - 2How to reduce image file size on iPhone and iPad - 42How to reduce image file size on iPhone and iPad - 53How to reduce image file size on iPhone and iPad - 75How to reduce image file size on iPhone and iPad - 70How to reduce image file size on iPhone and iPad - 71How to reduce image file size on iPhone and iPad - 18How to reduce image file size on iPhone and iPad - 17