What does lossy compression do to a file?

Lossy compression reduces the file size by removing some data from the file. This technique is commonly used in multimedia formats such as JPEG for images and MP3 for audio. The aim of lossy compression is to decrease storage requirements and make file transfers more efficient, at the cost of some loss in quality. It selectively discards less important information that typically has a negligible impact on the perceived quality, allowing for a more manageable file size while sacrificing some fidelity. This balance is particularly effective in applications where perfect fidelity is less critical than file size, like streaming or web usage.