Increase an image's file size
Pad a photo up to a minimum file size, for forms that demand one.
Drop your file here
It is processed on your device — nothing is uploaded.
The requirement nobody expects
Some upload forms specify a minimum file size as well as a maximum — "photo must be between 20 KB and 50 KB" is common on Indian government and exam portals. A well-optimised photo can easily come in under the floor and be rejected for being too small, which is a genuinely baffling error to receive.
This pads the file up to your minimum without touching a single pixel.
How it pads without changing the image
JPEG files can contain comment segments, which every decoder skips. Padding is added as comment data inside the file, so the size goes up and the picture is bit-for-bit identical to what you started with.
The alternative approaches are worse. Re-saving at higher quality changes the pixels and may still not reach the target. Appending bytes after the end-of-image marker works in some viewers and is stripped by others — including, quite possibly, the portal you are uploading to.
JPEG only
PNG has an equivalent mechanism but portals that specify a minimum size almost always want JPEG, and adding a format that might then be rejected is not a favour. Convert to JPG first if you have a PNG.
If the file is already big enough
It comes back unchanged, and you are told. No point in padding something that already passes.
The other direction
Far more common: compress to a maximum size when a form sets an upper limit. Between the two, any range a form specifies can be met.
Common questions
Why would a form need a minimum size?
Portals use it as a crude quality check — the assumption being that a very small file must be a very low-quality image.
Does padding change my photo?
Not at all. The padding goes in a comment segment that decoders skip; the pixels are bit-for-bit identical.
Why not just re-save at higher quality?
That changes the pixels and may still miss the target. Padding is exact and lossless.
Does it work on PNG?
Not here. Portals specifying a minimum almost always want JPEG — convert first.
Will the portal accept a padded file?
Yes. It is a completely valid JPEG that any decoder reads normally.