What is this weird JPEG TIFF hybrid image and how can I save it from PS as a normal JPEG?

Question

I have this JPEG image saved out of PS using "Save As" and selecting "JPEG".

• It's abnormally large for it's WxH resolution
• Mac Preview's info shows it as an uncompressed TIFF
• Trying to save it out of PS with 0 quality makes no difference

Source image: https://digital-origins-public.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/what-is-this.jpg

1. What is this thing?
2. How can I save it out of Photoshop as a normal JPEG using "Save As"?

Answer 1

If you run the file through ExifTool, you'll see that it contains a huge number of Document Ancestors elements:

Document Ancestors              : 0, 0000A6C7815905497C2762FB3073AC1B, ...
...
Warning                         : [Minor] Extracted only 1000 photoshop: DocumentAncestors items. Ignore minor errors to extract all

If you remove all EXIF data (exiftool -all=), the remaining file is only 792KB in size. AFAIK, Photoshop will remove these unnecessary metadata when you use Save for Web.

There's also a thread about this phenomenon:

• Adobe Support Community: Inflated JPG File Size - Photoshop Document:Ancestors Metadata

Answer 2

As indicated by its "magic number" bytes (FF D8 FF E1), it is a JPEG file in EXIF fomat. You are probably more accustomed to the JFIF format. Note that in the EXIF format (which is a "container" format) there are several possible encodings for the image itself, including the TIFF format.

Answer 3

For me it seems like the image (JPEG you provide via URL) is ordinary JPEG file with some hidden information inside (Steganography). You can check this Q/A for more information. It incorporate binary codes C3 BF (can be decoded as ÿ). The total size of included information is 2.7MB. You can test it here.

P.S. You can save it (after open in PS) via usual way: File->Save As, or use File->Export->Export As (for more options)