JPEG, or Joint Photographic Experts Group, is a standard method of image compression that is widely used in digital photography and image editing. JPEG uses lossy compression, which means that some image data is discarded in order to reduce the file size of the image. The degree of compression can be adjusted, with higher compression resulting in smaller file sizes but also a reduction in image quality.

JPEG is a popular file format because it can achieve high levels of compression while maintaining a relatively high level of image quality, making it well-suited for use in web graphics, digital photography, and other applications where image file size matters. JPEG images are supported by a wide range of software and devices and can be easily shared and viewed online or in print. However, because JPEG is a lossy format, repeated editing and saving of JPEG images results in a progressive loss of quality over time.