Help
Frequently asked questions
Everything about resizing pictures with ResizePictures — sizes, cropping, formats, printing and privacy. Still stuck? Email us.
Getting started
Resizing a picture
The three steps, what “keep proportions” means, and how to get an exact size.
How do I resize a picture?
Open the image resizer, drop in a photo (or click Choose a photo, or paste it with Ctrl + V), type the width you want, and click Download. The height is worked out for you so the photo keeps its shape.
How do I make a photo smaller for e-mail or an online form?
Type a smaller width (800 px is plenty for e-mail) or drag the Scale slider left. If the form says “maximum 500 KB”, tick Keep the file under, enter 500, and the tool lowers the JPG quality just enough to fit. The file size is shown before you download. The resize-to-KB guide lists the usual limits (20, 50, 100, 200 KB) and the pixel sizes that fit them.
What does the lock between Width and Height do?
When it is on (the default), changing one side changes the other so the photo keeps its proportions and never looks stretched. Turn it off to type an exact width and height — the photo is then cropped to that shape instead of being squashed; drag the blue frame to choose which part to keep.
How do I get an exact size like 400 × 400 or 1080 × 1920?
Click Common sizes… and pick the one you need (Instagram, Facebook, passport photo, 4 × 6 print…), or turn the lock off and type both numbers. Either way the frame snaps to the right shape and you drag it over the part of the photo you want.
Can I make a picture bigger?
Yes — type a larger size or move the slider right. Be aware that a photo enlarged much beyond its original size looks soft, because there is no extra detail to add. The tool warns you when you go past 100 %.
Can I resize several pictures at once?
Not yet — one picture at a time. Batch resizing is on the list for a future version.
Can I link straight to a size or a file-size limit?
Yes. Add the settings to the resizer address, for example /en/resize?w=600&h=600&format=jpeg&kb=50 — the resizer opens with them filled in and applies them to the first photo you choose. Supported: w, h (with unit=px|in|cm and dpi), scale (percent), ratio (e.g. 16:9), circle=1, format=jpeg|png|webp, kb. The guides are built from such links.
Crop, rotate, circle
Changing the shape
Ratios, round profile pictures, and sideways phone photos.
How do I crop a photo?
Drag the corners or edges of the blue frame on the picture; drag inside the frame to move it. The dimmed area is cut away. Use the Crop buttons (Square, 4 : 3, 16 : 9, 9 : 16…) to lock the frame to a shape, or Free to drag it any way you like. Select all brings back the whole photo.
How do I make a round profile picture?
Click Circle. The frame becomes a circle, the corners outside it are made transparent, and the file is saved as PNG (JPG cannot be transparent). Most sites — Instagram, X, LinkedIn — show a square photo as a circle anyway, so you usually only need Circle for websites or documents where the round shape must be baked in.
My phone photo is sideways. How do I fix it?
Click Rotate left or Rotate right above the picture. Photos from iPhones and Android phones usually open the right way up automatically; if one still looks rotated, one click fixes it. Flip mirrors a selfie back to how other people see you.
Formats & quality
JPG, PNG, WebP and printing
Which file type to pick, what the quality slider does, and how DPI works.
Which formats can I open?
JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF, BMP and AVIF open directly in your browser. HEIC / HEIF (iPhone), TIFF, PSD and SVG are converted on our server first — in memory, never stored — because browsers cannot open them (see HEIC to JPG). Animated GIFs open as a still picture (the first frame).
JPG, PNG or WebP — which should I choose?
JPG for photos: smallest files, universally supported. PNG for logos, screenshots, text and anything with transparency: exact pixels, larger files. WebP when you want JPG-like photos at roughly 25–35 % smaller size and know the destination accepts it (all modern browsers and phones do; some older e-mail programs and government forms do not). Same keeps whatever the original was.
What does the Quality slider do?
It controls how much JPG or WebP compresses the picture. 70–90 is the sweet spot: files shrink a lot with no visible change. Below about 50 you start to see blockiness. PNG has no quality setting because it never loses detail — which is also why PNG files are bigger.
What are the “inches” and “cm” units and the DPI setting?
They are for printing. A printer needs a certain number of pixels per inch to look sharp — 300 DPI is the standard for photos and ID photos, 150 DPI is fine for posters seen from further away. Choose Inches or cm, type the printed size, and the pixel size is calculated for you: 4 × 6 inches at 300 DPI becomes 1200 × 1800 pixels. The print guide has a table of every common print size.
What size should a passport or ID photo be?
It depends on the country. Under Common sizes → Print & ID photos you will find the US 2 × 2 inch photo (600 × 600 px), the 35 × 45 mm photo used by the UK, EU and Schengen countries (413 × 531 px), and the Chinese 一寸 / 二寸 sizes, all at 300 DPI. The passport photo guide has a table by country with the digital upload rules. Always check the exact rules of the office you are applying to.
Why did a transparent PNG get a white background?
You saved it as JPG, and JPG cannot be transparent. Either save as PNG (or WebP) to keep the transparency, or pick the background colour you prefer — the option appears under Save as whenever it applies.
Privacy & support
Your photos, your device, the price
What leaves your computer (almost nothing), browser support, and what it costs (nothing).
Is my photo uploaded anywhere?
No. Opening, resizing, cropping, rotating and saving all happen inside your browser, on your own computer or phone. The one exception is a file format your browser cannot open on its own — HEIC, TIFF, PSD or SVG — which is sent to our server, converted to a normal image in memory, returned to you and discarded immediately. Nothing is written to disk and nobody looks at it. See the privacy policy.
Does it change the original file on my computer?
Never. The resized copy goes to your Downloads folder with a new name (for example holiday-1200x800.jpg); the original stays exactly as it was.
Which browsers and devices work?
Current versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari on Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone, iPad and Android. On a phone the picture comes first and the settings below it; the crop frame works with your finger.
How big a picture can I open?
Up to 40 MB per file. Very large photos (over about 50 megapixels) can be slow on older phones; the output is limited to 10 000 pixels on a side.
Is ResizePictures free?
Yes — free for personal and commercial use, with no account, no watermark and no limit on how many pictures you resize.
Where did the icon generator and image editor go?
The old site tried to do everything; this version does one job — resizing pictures — and does it well. Links to the old tools now bring you to the home page.
Ready to resize a picture?
Free, in your browser, three steps. Your photo never leaves your device.