JPEG, or Joint Photographic Experts Group, is a commonly used image format for digital photographs and other types of images. It was developed by the Joint Photographic Experts Group in 1992 as an efficient means of compressing photographic images while preserving their quality. JPEG files are compressed using lossy compression algorithms which allow them to be stored at much smaller file sizes than uncompressed formats such as TIFF or BMP. This makes JPEG ideal for web graphics and applications that require quick loading times due to its small size.
The main advantage of using JPEG is its ability to compress large amounts of data without sacrificing too much image quality; however, some artifacts may appear if the compression ratio is set too high or when saving multiple times with different settings on the same file. In addition, since it uses a lossy algorithm there will be some information lost during each save operation so users should take care not to over-compress their files if they want maximum image fidelity in the end product.
Despite these drawbacks though, most photographers find that JPEG provides an excellent balance between file size and quality making it one of the most popular formats available today for storing digital photos online and sharing them with others via email or social media platforms like Facebook & Instagram.