Browser Compatibility

Comprehensive browser support information for HTTP compression algorithms

Compression Support by Browser

Chrome / Chromium

  • ✓ Gzip: All versions
  • ✓ Deflate: All versions
  • ✓ Brotli: Version 50+ (2016)
  • ◐ Zstandard: Behind flag (v123+)

Firefox

  • ✓ Gzip: All versions
  • ✓ Deflate: All versions
  • ✓ Brotli: Version 44+ (2016)
  • ✓ Zstandard: Version 126+ (2024)

Safari

  • ✓ Gzip: All versions
  • ✓ Deflate: All versions
  • ✓ Brotli: Version 11+ (2017)
  • ✗ Zstandard: Not supported

Edge

  • ✓ Gzip: All versions
  • ✓ Deflate: All versions
  • ✓ Brotli: Version 15+ (2017)
  • ◐ Zstandard: Behind flag (v123+)

Mobile Browser Support

iOS Safari

  • Gzip and Deflate: All versions
  • Brotli: iOS 11.0+ (2017)
  • Zstandard: Not supported

Chrome for Android

  • Gzip and Deflate: All versions
  • Brotli: Version 50+ (2016)
  • Zstandard: Behind flag (v123+)

Samsung Internet

  • Gzip and Deflate: All versions
  • Brotli: Version 5.0+ (2016)
  • Zstandard: Not supported

Feature Detection

JavaScript Feature Detection

// Check Accept-Encoding support
function checkCompressionSupport() {
    const acceptEncoding = navigator.acceptEncoding || 
                          navigator.mozAcceptEncoding || 
                          navigator.webkitAcceptEncoding;
    
    if (acceptEncoding) {
        console.log('Supported encodings:', acceptEncoding);
    }
    
    // Server-side detection is more reliable
    fetch('/test', { headers: { 'Accept-Encoding': 'gzip, br, zstd' }})
        .then(response => {
            console.log('Content-Encoding:', response.headers.get('Content-Encoding'));
        });
}

Legacy Browser Considerations

Supporting Older Browsers

  • Always include gzip as a fallback - supported by all modern browsers
  • Content negotiation - Let the server choose the best compression based on Accept-Encoding
  • Progressive enhancement - Serve uncompressed content if no compression is supported
  • Test thoroughly - Use tools like BrowserStack to test across different browsers

Implementation Notes

Best Practices for Cross-Browser Support

  1. Server Configuration: Configure your server to handle multiple compression algorithms
  2. Quality Settings: Use appropriate compression levels for different content types
  3. MIME Types: Ensure correct MIME types for compressed content
  4. Fallback Strategy: Always have a fallback to uncompressed content
  5. Testing: Test with real devices and browsers, not just developer tools

Future Support

Browser vendors are continually improving compression support. Keep an eye on:

  • Zstandard adoption in mainstream browsers
  • Improvements to existing compression algorithms
  • New compression methods for specific content types
  • Hardware acceleration for compression/decompression