Thumbnails are a term used by graphic designers and photographers, meaning 'small images.' They serve as a tool to quickly view large images by displaying them in a smaller, preview format across various platforms, from mobile devices to websites. All modern operating systems like Windows and Linux, as well as all mobile devices, use these small images referred to as thumbnails.

What are Thumbnails?

Thumbnails are small-sized versions of original images and are also used as cover photos for videos. They prevent the unnecessary downloading of large images and help you find the images you're looking for more quickly. If you are searching for a video, thumbnails provide a summary of the video content. The gallery application on mobile devices shows a grid preview of existing images, which practically answers the question of what thumbnails are.

Thumbnails, or small images, are automatically generated by mobile devices and operating systems. As a user, you don't need to perform any actions; this is completely a self-operating process to enhance the device's performance. Thus, when you enter the gallery or click on a folder full of images, the images are listed more quickly. Depending on the number of images, this process can store unnecessary files in the device's memory.

While the space occupied in memory may not be significant until a certain number of images, if there are many images, the thumbnail size can take up considerable space. Although not always necessary, you can delete these files during periodic cleanups of unnecessary files. For example, to delete from an Android device, you can remove the '.thumbnails' folder located under the 'DCIM' folder via the 'File Manager' app. If you can't see this folder, you need to activate the 'Show hidden files' option in the 'File Manager' app settings.

What are Thumbnails Used For?

Thumbnails are a practical way to display images for previewing. They are used by graphic designers, web designers, and mobile app developers in their visual and video-based work. They enhance both the performance and speed of the application. Particularly for websites, thumbnails can increase the duration of a user's visit and ease the work of web designers, also contributing to SEO.

Depending on their usage, different types of thumbnail applications exist:

• Video thumbnails: These are cover images used for promotional purposes before entering videos on platforms like YouTube. Video thumbnails provide information about the video without watching it, and the more intriguing the image, the higher the video's click-through rate.
• Social media thumbnails: Images shared on social media are initially displayed as thumbnails. These images are generated by the application from the image uploaded by the user. Therefore, to increase the engagement rate of the shared image, visuals should be appropriately designed for the social media platform.
• Blog thumbnails: Used when directing from one page to another with a visual along with blog posts. Web designers and developers create thumbnails that will capture the reader's interest. Platforms like WordPress offer plugins for this purpose.

Thumbnails offer many advantages on the user side and also simplify the work of developers and content creators. Application developers can develop performance-focused applications using thumbnails. Content creators can also create effective, attention-grabbing thumbnails to increase click-through rates.