Whether it’s after a beautiful wedding or a boozy night out, there are often times when you want to send your friends photos over WhatsApp.
But users will know the frustration of receiving a bunch of snaps, only to discover that they’re grainy.
Thankfully, the days of having to meet up to AirDrop the photos could soon be a thing of the past.
WhatsApp is testing the ability to send high-resolution photos over the platform, according to WABetaInfo.
‘This feature definitely improves the user experience while sending images, and it is rolling out to some beta testers!’ WABetaInfo explained.
WhatsApp is testing the ability to send high-resoltuion photos over the platform, according to WABetaInfo
WABetaInfo spotted the new feature in the latest beta versions of WhatsApp for iOS and Android – iOS 23.11.0.76 and Android 2.23.12.13, respectively
WABetaInfo spotted the new feature in the latest beta versions of WhatsApp for iOS and Android – iOS 23.11.0.76 and Android 2.23.12.13, respectively.
By default, WhatsApp currently reduces the quality of photos you send by 70 per cent.
While this ensures faster data sharing, it can be incredibly irritating, especially if you plan to share the photos on other platforms, such as Instagram.
However, the beta versions of WhatsApp have a new option to adjust the photo-quality when sharing photos with your friends.
WABetaInfo shared a screenshot of the feature, and said: ‘As you can see in this screenshot, it is possible to choose a better quality when sending photos, and the option only appears when you select a photo large in size.’
By default, photos will still be sent in ‘Standard quality’, but users will also be able to select a new HD option.
‘Note that this does not mean that you can send photos in their original quality because this option preserves image dimensions, but light compression is still applied to the image,’ WABetaInfo explained.
When a photo is sent as HD, it will be marked as a high-quality photo via a new tag on the message bubble.
As it stands, the new feature is limited to photos, and videos will still be compressed before being sent.
While it’s yet to be rolled out to all WhatsApp users, the news will likely delight many fans, who regularly complain about photo quality on Twitter.
One user wrote: ‘Why does Whatsapp reduces photo quality especially screenshots it’s so annoying tbh pls do something about it ASAP.’
Another added: ‘WhatsApp need to cut their s*** with degrading my photo/vids quality.’
And one vented: ‘DAMN YOU WHATSAPP WHY YOU COMPRESS ALL THE PHOTOS SENT THROUGH YOU.’
It remains unclear when the new HD photo option will roll out to all users.
