What is the purpose of compression for bitmap images?

• A. To reduce file size for easier loading and sharing.
• B. To increase resolution.
• C. To add metadata.
• D. To improve color depth.

Answer: (A)

Compression for bitmap images is all about reducing the amount of data in the file. By encoding the image more efficiently, the file size gets smaller, which makes it quicker to load on websites, easier to share, and cheaper to store or transmit. There are different methods—lossless compression keeps every pixel, while lossy compression drops some data to achieve bigger reductions—but in all cases the main aim is a smaller file. This isn’t about increasing resolution or color depth, and while metadata can be affected, the primary purpose is to shrink the size for faster loading and easier sharing.