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Free anonymous messages are limited to a 3 MiB complete encrypted envelope. That limit includes more than the raw image files.

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When compression is offered

Wipe.me offers compression only when:
  • the complete encrypted-envelope estimate is over 3 MiB;
  • the draft contains one or more compatible static images; and
  • the available budget indicates that the message can potentially fit without crossing the hard quality floor.
When those conditions are met, the disabled Encrypt action becomes Compress images to fit. Selecting it opens a local estimate and confirmation dialog; the same dialog displays progress. On success, you return to the editor and Encrypt is enabled. Canceling or encountering an error leaves the draft and images unchanged. Your original files are never modified. Only the browser draft is replaced, and only after every selected image succeeds and the final complete envelope is verified under 3 MiB.

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How the budget is calculated

Target allocation accounts for text, all attachments, quoted or reply blocks, and encryption-envelope overhead—not only raw image bytes. Each compressed image has a hard target cap of 1 MiB. With several images, the remaining message budget is divided dynamically.

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Standard reduction

  • Images are never upscaled.
  • Processing starts at up to 2560 px on the long edge.
  • The quality floor is 0.72.
  • The resolution floor is 1600 px on the long edge, or the source size when smaller.

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Strong reduction

If any target falls below 250 KiB, Wipe.me shows an explicit quality warning:
  • the quality floor becomes 0.60; and
  • the resolution floor becomes 1280 px on the long edge, or the source size when smaller.
The absolute planning floor is 96 KiB per reducible image. If the envelope budget would require less, compression is not offered. If the browser encoder cannot meet the target above the applicable quality and resolution floors, the operation fails safely and the draft stays unchanged.

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Compatible images

Compatible sources currently include browser-decodable JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF, BMP, and HEIC/HEIF. Animated GIF and SVG are excluded. Output is JPEG, and transparency is flattened onto white. HEIC, HEIF, and AVIF codec availability depends on the browser and operating system.
The displayed post-compression size is an estimate. Wipe.me measures the final, complete encrypted envelope again before accepting the new draft.

Attachment metadata and privacy

See which metadata is removed from supported attachment formats before encryption.