Less to store
Lighter images. A little more room.
A smaller image takes less space to keep and share. Reducing unnecessary storage demand is one practical contribution you can make—one file at a time.
Compress an imageWhat if everyone saved 1 MB a day?
Explore a scenario with 6 billion Internet users, based on ITU’s 2025 estimate. Adjust the daily reduction to see its scale. ITU, 2025 ↗
A fresh reduction is added at the start of each day and retained through year-end: the first day counts for 365 days, the last for 1 day.
- New space saved each day
- 6 PB
- Space saved by year-end
- 2.19 EB
- First-year storage electricity · estimate
- 6,252,012 kWh
- Associated first-year CO₂ · estimate
- 2,720 t CO₂
One continuously powered copy. No cooling, manufacturing, transmission or compression energy included. These figures allocate storage energy to capacity; deleting a file does not immediately reduce a drive’s power draw.
How we estimate this ↓Files are digital. Storage is physical.
Materials and manufacturing
A drive starts with raw materials and manufactured components. Extraction, production and transport consume resources and energy. Keeping useful devices in service for longer can reduce demand for replacements. Seagate · LCA ↗
Space has an operating cost
Storage equipment uses electricity while powered, and data centres also need supporting infrastructure. Fewer unnecessary copies and smaller files can help contain capacity demand over time. The benefit depends on how the storage is provisioned and used. Cloud Carbon Footprint ↗
At the end of a device’s life
The Global E-waste Monitor reports 62 million tonnes of e-waste in 2022; 22.3% was documented as formally collected and recycled. This covers all electronic waste, not just storage devices. Repair, reuse and responsible recycling matter alongside compression. ITU / UNITAR, 2024 ↗ Unsafe dismantling and open burning of electronic waste can release toxic substances into the air, soil and water. WHO, 2024 ↗
A transparent estimate
The result beside each image uses the actual difference in file size and the HDD scenario below. Batch totals include larger results as well as smaller ones. Repeating a conversion replaces its result rather than adding another saving; archives and unfinished conversions are excluded.
| Input | Assumption | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Internet users | 6 billion · 2025 estimate | ITU, 2025 ↗ |
| Storage power per capacity | HDD 0.65 / SSD 1.2 W/TB · 2020 model estimates | Cloud Carbon Footprint ↗ |
| Electricity CO₂ intensity | 435 g CO₂/kWh · global generation, 2025 | IEA · Electricity 2026 ↗ |
| Per-image storage period | 365 days · one powered copy | |
Energy (kWh) = bytes saved ÷ 10¹² × storage W/TB × hours stored ÷ 1,000. CO₂ (g) = energy × 435.
This is an illustrative allocation of operating energy, not a verified reduction or a carbon offset. Actual results vary by device, electricity mix, uptime and backups. We do not measure the energy used to compress your image, so this is not a net carbon calculation. Manufacturing impacts are described above but not converted into per-file savings.
Decimal units: 1 MB = 1,000,000 bytes; 1 TB = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes. CO₂ covers electricity-generation carbon dioxide, not a full life-cycle CO₂e footprint.
Model v1 · sources checked 7 September 2026
Keep the useful parts. Reduce the excess.
Check image quality, download the result, and replace the original where appropriate. Keep the backups you need, remove redundant copies, use devices for longer and choose proper electronics recycling.
Compress an image Your files stay local