Does Dropbox compress photos?

Reading time icon 2 min. read


Readers help support Windows Report. When you make a purchase using links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Tooltip Icon

Read the affiliate disclosure page to find out how can you help Windows Report effortlessly and without spending any money. Read more

Key notes

  • Cloud storage services can compress media files to reduce bandwidth and storage space.
  • In this article, we find out if Dropbox also compresses photos during upload affecting the image quality.
  • Take a virtual tour of our Dropbox webpage to learn how to make the most of your Dropbox account.
  • To learn more about Dropbox and similar cloud storage services, visit our Software hub.
Dropbox image compression

Dropbox is a popular file hosting service with its app available on across all the platforms. It offers all the essential features of a cloud drive utility including automatic file synchronization, personal cloud, and client software.

Messenger apps like WhatsApp compress media files to speed up upload and download speed. This is also true for other cloud storage apps like Google Photos.

But what about Dropbox? Does Dropbox compress photos?

How can I find out if Dropbox compresses photos?

Dropbox compress photos

If you read the Dropbox blog, it says:

When you open the app, photos, and videos from your iPhone or iPad are saved to Dropbox at their original size and quality in a private Camera Uploads folder.

However, this may not have been the case a few years ago. A simple search on the internet would bring up the results that do show file re-compression with Dropbox.

That said, in our testing, Dropbox doesn’t seem to re-compresses your photos before it uploads them to your account. And there are no visible changes in the image quality.

Dropbox compress photos

We uploaded an image to Dropbox with a file size of 4.47 MB and a disk size of 4.48 MB.

After uploading the photo and viewing the details on Dropbox, it shows the photo size as 4.48 MB, which is similar to the disk size shown on PC.

Downloading the same photo did not downgrade the image quality either. The downloaded file retained the same size and image quality.

After brief testing, we can say that Dropbox does not compress photos. Even if there is a compression or re-compression, it is not visible in the uploaded or downloaded images.

So, unlike other cloud services and messaging apps, Dropbox can be used to share media files without worrying about the loss of quality.

[wl_navigator]

More about the topics: dropbox, Dropbox Guides, file compression