Why might a PNG file size change after LSB steganography, and how can you avoid that?

Some implementations, like Grant Curell's C++ code, may add extra tEXt chunks or retain original metadata, increasing file size. To avoid this, you can use a tool like `compress.cpp` from the [modified PNG_stego project](/news/steganography-techniques-lsb-steganography-in-png-files) to remove redundant chunks, restoring the original size. Pure LSB steganography on the IDAT chunk itself does not inherently change the file size when properly implemented.