JPEG, which stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group, is a widely utilized method for compressing digital images in a lossy manner. This means that some data from the original image is lost during the compression process to reduce the file size, making it more efficient for storage and transmission.

JPEG compression is particularly effective for photographs and complex images with smooth variations in tone and color, as it can significantly decrease the file size while maintaining an acceptable level of image quality.

The JPEG format is one of the most popular image formats used on the internet and in digital cameras due to its balance between image quality and file size.