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      <id>01a063ec-32dd-7ef5-ae4b-ea65a70f0c6b</id>
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      <author>Stefan Wintermeyer</author>
      <url>https://vutuv.de/wintermeyer/posts/01a063ec-32dd-7ef5-ae4b-ea65a70f0c6b</url>
      <published_on>2026-09-02</published_on>
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      <body_markdown># Low-bandwidth mode

vutuv is already fast. I want to go one step further, because not everybody has fiber at home or Starlink on the roof: members on a slow or metered line now have a switch of their own. You find it under Settings → Appearance → Low-bandwidth mode (https://vutuv.de/settings/bandwidth), or as a box on the sign-up form. It is off by default and can be switched off again at any time.

**Smaller pictures.** Post photos, pictures from other networks, link screenshots and profile covers come in a lite version: about the size they are shown at, in a stronger compression. Measured on vutuv.de, a post photo is 12 kB instead of 44 kB, a link screenshot 3 kB instead of 13 kB, a cover 8 kB instead of 34 kB. Avatars stay as they are (for now); they are under 2 kB each.

**Full quality on request.** Every lite picture carries a small HD control in its corner. One tap loads the full version in place, and it stays loaded while the page updates. The lightbox opens a photo at 1,600 px instead of 2,560 px.

**A plain composer.** Posts and messages are written in a plain Markdown box. The formatting editor is 155 kB of JavaScript, and in this mode it is never sent. What you publish looks the same to everyone.

**No preview while a picture is being checked.** A photo that is still going through our image check shows a grey tile with a note instead of the pixelated preview, which would cost as much as the lite picture itself.

**Pages compressed harder.** Pages are compressed with brotli at level 6 for everyone; in low-bandwidth mode the server uses level 10. A profile page is 24 kB instead of 27 kB.

While working on this new feature, I was able to enhance the web performance of the standard version of vutuv as well. Small improvements add up.</body_markdown>
      <author_username>wintermeyer</author_username>
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  <description># Low-bandwidth mode</description>
  <title>Stefan Wintermeyer · 2026-09-02</title>
  <author>
    <name>Stefan Wintermeyer</name>
    <username>wintermeyer</username>
    <url>https://vutuv.de/wintermeyer</url>
  </author>
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  <url>https://vutuv.de/wintermeyer/posts/01a063ec-32dd-7ef5-ae4b-ea65a70f0c6b</url>
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  <tags>
    <item>WebPerf</item>
    <item>vutuv</item>
  </tags>
  <in_reply_to/>
  <generated_at>2026-09-03T07:47:12Z</generated_at>
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  <published_on>2026-09-02</published_on>
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  <body_markdown># Low-bandwidth mode

vutuv is already fast. I want to go one step further, because not everybody has fiber at home or Starlink on the roof: members on a slow or metered line now have a switch of their own. You find it under Settings → Appearance → Low-bandwidth mode (https://vutuv.de/settings/bandwidth), or as a box on the sign-up form. It is off by default and can be switched off again at any time.

**Smaller pictures.** Post photos, pictures from other networks, link screenshots and profile covers come in a lite version: about the size they are shown at, in a stronger compression. Measured on vutuv.de, a post photo is 12 kB instead of 44 kB, a link screenshot 3 kB instead of 13 kB, a cover 8 kB instead of 34 kB. Avatars stay as they are (for now); they are under 2 kB each.

**Full quality on request.** Every lite picture carries a small HD control in its corner. One tap loads the full version in place, and it stays loaded while the page updates. The lightbox opens a photo at 1,600 px instead of 2,560 px.

**A plain composer.** Posts and messages are written in a plain Markdown box. The formatting editor is 155 kB of JavaScript, and in this mode it is never sent. What you publish looks the same to everyone.

**No preview while a picture is being checked.** A photo that is still going through our image check shows a grey tile with a note instead of the pixelated preview, which would cost as much as the lite picture itself.

**Pages compressed harder.** Pages are compressed with brotli at level 6 for everyone; in low-bandwidth mode the server uses level 10. A profile page is 24 kB instead of 27 kB.

While working on this new feature, I was able to enhance the web performance of the standard version of vutuv as well. Small improvements add up.</body_markdown>
  <likers>
    <item>
      <name>Friedhelm Brust</name>
      <username>friedhelm_brust</username>
      <url>https://vutuv.de/friedhelm_brust</url>
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