Guides
Practical, step-by-step guides for the image jobs people actually get stuck on, each built around tests we ran with real photos.
Every guide answers one specific task: getting a photo under an upload limit, cropping it to a country's passport size, making a background transparent, or finding out what a phone photo reveals about where it was taken. Each one gives the numbers you need first, then the steps, then the things that usually go wrong.
The figures in these guides come from our own tests with the tools on this site, and platform rules (marketplaces, social networks, YouTube) are checked against the platforms' own help pages where we could. Every guide is available in all eight languages of the site.
Image Upscaler
How to Increase Image Resolution
How to increase image resolution for print or screen: check the pixels you have, see how many you need, why changing 72 to 300 dpi does nothing, and enlarge 2x or 4x free.
Read the guide →Upscale an Image to 4K
Upscale an image to 4K (3840×2160) for free: which factor to pick for your size, why most phone photos only need cropping, 16:9 vs phone and ultrawide shapes, and what 4K from a small image really looks like.
Read the guide →Image Cropper
Passport Photo Size and Cropping
Passport and visa photo sizes for the US, UK, EU, Canada, China, Japan, Korea and more, how big the head must be, the pixel sizes for online applications, and how to crop your own photo free.
Read the guide →Instagram Image Sizes
The right Instagram image sizes: 1080 × 1350 for portrait posts, 1080 × 1080 square, 1080 × 566 landscape, 1080 × 1920 for Stories and Reels. How much of a photo each crop keeps, the 3:4 grid, and how to crop free.
Read the guide →YouTube Thumbnail Size
YouTube's current thumbnail size: 3840 × 2160 recommended (16:9), at least 640 pixels wide, JPG or PNG, 2 MB from a phone or 50 MB on desktop. Shorts use 9:16. How to crop, enlarge and compress a thumbnail for free.
Read the guide →Image Compressor
Compress an Image to 100KB
Compress an image to under 100KB for a form, website or email. Why to type 97, how big a photo can stay at 100KB, JPG vs WebP, tested on five kinds of image. Free.
Read the guide →Compress an Image to 50KB
Get a photo between 20 and 50KB for an application form: the right pixel size, the minimum-size trap, and the exact quality settings we measured. Free, nothing uploaded.
Read the guide →Compress an Image to 20KB
Get a signature or small photo under 20KB without making it unreadable. Measured: why a white background fits 3x more pixels, how tight to crop, and the right settings. Free.
Read the guide →Background Remover
How to Make a Background Transparent
Make an image background transparent for free: photos with AI, logos and signatures with the right tool, how to keep transparency (PNG or WebP, never JPG) and how to spot a fake transparent PNG. Tested.
Read the guide →Product Photos on a White Background
Put a product photo on a pure white background for free: what Amazon, eBay, Etsy and Shopify ask for, why "white" photos usually aren't, how to fill 85% of the frame, and the right size and format. Tested.
Read the guide →Metadata Remover
How to Remove Location from a Photo
How to remove location data from a photo before you share it: check whether a photo has GPS, remove it on iPhone, Android, Windows and Mac or in your browser, and stop your camera adding it. With what real photos revealed.
Read the guide →What Is EXIF Data?
What EXIF data is, what a photo really stores (camera settings, dates, GPS, serial numbers, editing history), how to view it on any device, when it's useful and when to remove it. With fields read from real photos.
Read the guide →