December 15, 2025
Pixels meet pitchforks
Make images smaller using best-in-class codecs, right in the browser
Shrink your pics in-browser—fans cheer, privacy hawks squawk, AI watermarks vanish
TLDR: Squoosh compresses images in your browser without uploading, but it logs usage via Google Analytics. Commenters split over privacy, plug desktop and SaaS alternatives, gasp that it may strip Google’s AI watermark, and puzzle why “quality 100%” can inflate files—practical, spicy, and very online.
Privacy-friendly image shrinker Squoosh rolls into the browser promising “no uploads, all local,” while quietly using Google Analytics to log basic visitor info, your before/after file sizes, and PWA (installable app) timestamps. Cue the eyebrow raise: local compression good, trackers lurking? The crowd split instantly.
Team Desktop showed up first. Jaxan waved a flag for ImageOptim, the beloved standalone app: why use a webpage when a native tool does it effortlessly? Then a bombshell: Trung0246 claimed Squoosh “also remove synthID,” the watermark Google uses to mark AI-made pics. Eyes widened, jokes flew, and the ethicists assembled. HelloUsername dropped receipts with two past threads and threads, proving this saga has reruns.
Self-promo sparks? Oh yes. karim79 strutted in with a SaaS pitch to kraken.io, boasting modern formats (AVIF/WebP/HEIC) and JPEG XL coming soon—translation: newer ways to make pics tiny. The crowd predicted the usual “HN flogging,” but some were curious. Meanwhile, busymom0 wondered why “quality 100%” sometimes makes files bigger. Explainers chimed in: different encoders and settings can add overhead; maybe just keep the smaller original. Meme of the day: “100% quality, 200% drama.” Verdict from the bleachers: Squoosh is slick and open-source, but privacy nits and AI watermark angst keep the popcorn popping.
Key Points
- •Squoosh is a browser-based image compression app supporting multiple formats.
- •Image compression runs locally and does not upload images to a server.
- •Squoosh uses Google Analytics to collect basic visitor data and image size metrics.
- •For PWA installations, analytics record installation type and time/date.
- •Development setup includes cloning the repo, running npm install, building, and starting a dev server.