JPG, or JPEG, is one of the most widely used digital image formats. JPG is a universal format which can be opened by almost all image-viewing or -editing programs, by web browsers, and by certain other apps, and they’re supported by most devices. JPGs are 2D pixel-based ‘raster’ images, which makes them better for photographs or scans, rather than digital illustrations which are often better as ‘vector’ images. Many cameras, smartphones, and basic photo or drawing programs will automatically save into JPG format. However, you can usually adjust settings to save into other formats if needed.

JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group, which is the name of the committee that standardised the format. JPG is a ‘lossy’ format, meaning that it is compressed to save storage space and make it easier to share. This compression can affect quality, but this loss of quality isn’t noticeable to most users.