Are you using the "Retina thumbnails" option?

[PhineasD]

This improvement was implemented in XF 2.3.8. Are you using it?

For now, I haven't activated it on my main forum... I have doubts that the improvements in user experience and SEO are significant enough to justify doubling the number of inodes and server space occupied by thumbnails.

XF 2.3 Thread 'What's new in XenForo 2.3.8?'

Jan 22, 2026

Although you may be anticipating a XenForo 2.4 HYS, we invested considerable effort in 2.3.8, resulting in new functionality significant enough to deserve its own announcement. XenForo 2.3.8 will be released today!

Retina thumbnails​

To ensure attachments are displayed at a much higher fidelity, especially on high-DPI displays, we now generate two versions of every thumbnail. One which matches the configured size under Options > Attachments as usual and a second which is double that size which is displayed in place of the smaller one on compatible devices, resulting in a better...

• Chris D
• Replies: 135
• Forum: Have you seen...?

• 
• 

 

[rdn]

Not using it; it's not worth it.

 

[Ricsca]

It depends on whether you have a lot of space available...

 

[nodle]

Of course, it's 2026, no one wants to look at low quality resoultion images.

 

[briansol]

small png/jpg -> slightly larger webp = same storage requirement

 

[Pauly]

I dont use webp and my domain backup excluding DB (tar/gz) were 57GB in size, after the conversion instantly jumped to 79GB

 

[Alvin63]

Yes and No. I think it's activated automatically, so any subsequent thumbnails uploaded will be processed, but I haven't bothered to process all the existing ones on the site.

 

[Suzanne O]

I believe this is automatically done once you've upgraded to 2.3.9.
I'll wait for one of the staff here to confirm.

 

[briansol]

only go-forward. you need to run a job to fix the old ones.