When you need 20 KB
Limits this tight show up for photo and signature fields in application forms, avatars on older forums and some internal company systems. The limit is usually checked against the file size in bytes, not against the picture dimensions — so a smaller file with the same look is all that matters.
How the tool hits the target
First it tries quality settings with a binary search to find the highest quality that is still ≤ 20 KB. If the minimum acceptable quality is still too heavy, it scales the image down and searches again; if there is spare room, it scales back up. Transparent PNGs are placed on a white background because JPEG has no transparency. If a file is already under the limit, it is offered unchanged.
Tips for better quality
Crop away empty background before compressing; choose WebP when the site accepts it — it is usually noticeably smaller than JPEG at similar quality; and avoid compressing an already compressed file many times in a row.