From 810244e8a96c3b97f3601d824277f07db4e0ca24 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: "Nolann B." <100787331+nolannbiron@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 2026 15:02:00 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] Stop preloading zoom-modal images at render time (#4528)

---
 .changeset/light-parts-repeat.md                    | 5 +++++
 packages/gitbook/src/components/utils/ZoomImage.tsx | 8 ++------
 2 files changed, 7 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 .changeset/light-parts-repeat.md

diff --git a/.changeset/light-parts-repeat.md b/.changeset/light-parts-repeat.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..98c5770da
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/light-parts-repeat.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"gitbook": patch
+---
+
+Stop preloading the zoom-modal variant of every zoomable image at render time; it downloaded each image twice during the initial page load. The modal image still loads on hover or click.
diff --git a/packages/gitbook/src/components/utils/ZoomImage.tsx b/packages/gitbook/src/components/utils/ZoomImage.tsx
index 4d294f81a..7e221a3ae 100644
--- a/packages/gitbook/src/components/utils/ZoomImage.tsx
+++ b/packages/gitbook/src/components/utils/ZoomImage.tsx
@@ -74,12 +74,8 @@ export function ZoomImage(
         };
     }, [imgRef, width]);
 
-    // Preload the image that will be displayed in the modal
-    if (zoomable) {
-        ReactDOM.preload(src, {
-            as: 'image',
-        });
-    }
+    // The modal image is loaded on demand (hover or click) by `preloadImage`; preloading it at
+    // render time would download every zoomable image twice during the initial page load.
     const preloadImage = React.useCallback(
         (onLoad?: () => void) => {
             const image = new Image();