A kilobyte (KB) is a unit of digital information storage that equals 1,024 bytes. It is commonly used to measure the size of small files, such as text documents or images. The term "kilobyte" comes from the prefix "kilo," which means one thousand, but in computing, it specifically refers to 1,024 due to the binary system used by computers. In the context of data storage, 1024 is significant because it represents a power of two (2^10). This binary measurement is foundational in computing, influencing how data is organized and processed in various devices, including computers and smartphones.