PhotoShrink imports photos and videos from your iPhone library, compresses them to HEIC format (resized to 1920px maximum, quality 0.5), and stores the results inside the app. Videos are converted to HEVC MP4 with a HEIC thumbnail. Your original Photo Library is never touched. Browse the compressed copies in a grid, check shooting locations on a map, and play videos inline or full screen — all without affecting the originals.
Each imported photo is resized to a maximum of 1920px on the longest side and encoded as HEIC at quality 0.5 using CIContext HEIF conversion. HEIC achieves smaller file sizes than JPEG at equivalent visual quality. Orientation is corrected automatically before saving. Your original Photo Library files are never modified.
Videos are exported as HEVC (H.265) 1920×1080 MP4 files using AVAssetExportSession. A HEIC thumbnail is generated for the grid view, with a video badge overlay to distinguish them from photos. The detail screen shows playback duration and supports inline and full-screen viewing.
When a photo includes GPS metadata, a pin appears on a MapKit map in the detail screen showing exactly where it was taken. Ideal for organizing travel photos or confirming the location of any shot at a glance — without leaving the app.
Each time you tap Import, PhotoShrink checks every asset's local identifier against the database and skips anything already imported. Only photos and videos that haven't been processed yet are compressed and added. A progress overlay with a Cancel button keeps you informed throughout.
When a photo is imported, PhotoShrink reads the full-resolution image data, corrects its orientation using UIGraphicsImageRenderer, resizes it to fit within 1920px, and encodes it to HEIC using CIContext's HEIF representation at 0.5 compression quality. The original file name, shooting date, original file size, and compressed file size are all recorded in the database and displayed in the detail view.
Videos are requested from PHImageManager at medium quality and exported as HEVC MP4 at 1920×1080 preset. A thumbnail is extracted from the first frame using AVAssetImageGenerator and saved as a HEIC image. The grid shows the thumbnail with a video badge. The detail screen shows the compressed duration, supports inline AVPlayer playback, and offers a full-screen button that pauses the inline player before switching.
All imported items are displayed in an adaptive grid sorted by creation date in descending order — newest first. Each cell is square and fills efficiently across screen widths. Tap any item to open the detail screen. Deleting an item from the detail screen removes only the compressed copy stored in-app; the original in your Photo Library is unaffected, as confirmed by the deletion alert message.
Tap any photo in the detail screen to open it full screen. Pinch to zoom in and drag to pan when zoomed. Double-tap to reset zoom and position. For videos, tap the expand icon in the top-right corner to open full-screen AVPlayer — the inline player pauses automatically before the transition. Tap the X button to dismiss the full-screen view and return to the detail screen.
On first launch, a permission dialog asks for access to your photo library. Select "Allow Full Access" so PhotoShrink can read your photos and videos for compression. You can update this setting any time in the iOS Settings app.
Tap the Import from Library button at the bottom of the screen. PhotoShrink checks which photos and videos haven't been imported yet and begins compressing and storing them one by one. A progress overlay shows the current count and a Cancel button lets you stop at any point.
Once import finishes, your photos and videos appear in the grid. Tap any item to see file details, view the shooting location on a map, or play a video. Tap the trash icon in the top-right to delete a compressed copy — your original Photo Library is not affected.
"I'm always running low on iPhone storage and this is the most painless way I've found to manage it. HEIC at 0.5 quality still looks great, and the compressed copies are noticeably smaller. The fact that it doesn't touch the originals in my library means I can import everything without worrying."
"I use this after every trip to compress my travel photos. The map view in the detail screen is a nice touch — it's satisfying to see where each shot was taken on a map without having to open the Photos app. Incremental import means I just tap the button and only new photos come in."
"The deletion confirmation dialog makes it clear that only the in-app copy is removed, which gave me the confidence to actually clean up my compressed library. Full-screen pinch zoom works well for checking image quality after compression. Solid utility app."
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