.JPG File Extension
File TypeJPEG Image
Developer | Joint Photographic Experts Group |
Popularity |
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Category | Raster Image Files |
Format | Binary |
What is a JPG file?
A JPG file is an image saved in a compressed image format standardized by the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG). It is commonly used for storing digital photos and used by most digital cameras to save images. JPG files are among the most common image files, along with .PNG, .TIF, and .GIF.
In the early 1980s, no technology existed that allowed users to easily compress and share digital images with one another. In 1982, the JPEG workgroup began designing a compression standard that could be used to reduce image files' size, making them easier to share, while retaining as much of their quality as possible.
In 1992, the workgroup created the JPEG file format. JPEG files, which are most commonly saved using the .jpg or .JPEG extension, are images created using a lossy compression algorithm, which actually destroys some data contained within the original image file. However, this data loss is mostly unnoticeable to the human eye. Because the JPEG standard continues to allows users to produce sharable, high-quality image files, and because it is so embedded within technologies used to create and share images, it is still the most common image compression standard in use today.
How do I open a JPG file?
You can open a JPG file with any program that supports images. There are a large amount of free and commercial image viewing and editing applications available for desktop and mobile platforms, including:
- Microsoft Windows Photos (Windows)
- Apple Preview (Mac)
- Adobe Photoshop (Windows, Mac)
- GIMP (cross-platform)
You can also view a JPG in your web browser by dragging and dropping it into your browser window.