JPEG Compression — What Actually Happens to Your Image
Deep dives into JPEG encoding, quality factor effects, chroma subsampling, and how compression interacts with embedded signals.
Related Experiments
Hands-on tests and reproducible data.
Torture Test v3: PixelSeal Survival Under 53 Real-World Transforms
We subjected PixelSeal-sealed images to 53 destructive transforms — JPEG recompression, aggressive resizing, cropping, rotation, and platform-simulated processing. 26 verified, 27 detected, 0 timeouts.
8 min · Feb 28, 2026
What Instagram Actually Does to Your Photos: A Pixel-Level Analysis
We uploaded sealed images to Instagram and examined exactly how the platform processes them — JPEG quality, resolution limits, metadata stripping, and chroma subsampling changes.
10 min · Mar 1, 2026
Related Guides
Deep dives and practical advice.
Instagram Upload Processing: What Happens to Your Photos (2026 Analysis)
Exactly how Instagram processes uploaded images — resolution limits, JPEG quality, metadata stripping, and chroma subsampling. Updated for 2026.
6 min · Mar 4, 2026
JPEG Compression Explained: What Every Photographer Should Know
How JPEG actually works — DCT transforms, quantization tables, quality factors, and why Q80 isn't '80% quality'. A technical but accessible deep dive.
10 min · Mar 4, 2026