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<title>HM Dev Studio blog</title>
<link>https://hmdevstudio.tech/blog</link>
<description>Notes from HM Dev Studio on apps, tools and how we build them.</description>
<item><title>How to compress a PDF to 100 KB, 200 KB or 1 MB without ruining it</title><link>https://hmdevstudio.tech/blog/compress-a-pdf-without-ruining-it</link><guid>https://hmdevstudio.tech/blog/compress-a-pdf-without-ruining-it</guid><pubDate>Fri, 16 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT</pubDate><description>Why PDFs get so large, which settings actually reduce the size, and a practical way to hit the file size limit of an online application while keeping the text readable.</description></item>
<item><title>How to organise and back up your important documents: a complete guide</title><link>https://hmdevstudio.tech/blog/organize-and-back-up-important-documents</link><guid>https://hmdevstudio.tech/blog/organize-and-back-up-important-documents</guid><pubDate>Fri, 16 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT</pubDate><description>What paperwork to keep and for how long, how to scan and name it, how to track expiry dates, the 3-2-1 backup rule, and how to share and protect sensitive scans.</description></item>
<item><title>Passport and visa photo sizes by country, and how to take one that gets accepted</title><link>https://hmdevstudio.tech/blog/passport-photo-size-by-country</link><guid>https://hmdevstudio.tech/blog/passport-photo-size-by-country</guid><pubDate>Fri, 16 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT</pubDate><description>Photo sizes for the US, UK, Schengen, Canada, Australia, India and China, plus the head size, background and lighting rules that cause most rejections, and how to lay out a print sheet.</description></item>
<item><title>The passport six-month rule explained, with examples and a checklist</title><link>https://hmdevstudio.tech/blog/passport-six-month-rule-explained</link><guid>https://hmdevstudio.tech/blog/passport-six-month-rule-explained</guid><pubDate>Fri, 16 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT</pubDate><description>What the six-month passport validity rule really means, how the Schengen three-month rule differs, how to count the dates, and what to do when your passport is too close to expiry.</description></item>
<item><title>How to get a photo under 100 KB for an online form</title><link>https://hmdevstudio.tech/blog/photo-under-100kb-for-online-forms</link><guid>https://hmdevstudio.tech/blog/photo-under-100kb-for-online-forms</guid><pubDate>Fri, 16 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT</pubDate><description>A step-by-step guide to resizing and compressing a photo or signature to the exact pixels and file size an application form asks for, without turning your face into a blur.</description></item>
<item><title>Proxy, VPN, user agent and browser profiles: what each one really does</title><link>https://hmdevstudio.tech/blog/proxy-vpn-user-agent-and-browser-profiles-explained</link><guid>https://hmdevstudio.tech/blog/proxy-vpn-user-agent-and-browser-profiles-explained</guid><pubDate>Fri, 16 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT</pubDate><description>A plain-language guide to what proxies, VPNs, user-agent switching and separate browser profiles actually protect, what they do not, and which one fits which problem.</description></item>
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