Thanks to the ability to send photos as documents and keep the original quality, WhatsApp users on iOS and Android can now send high-quality images without worrying about the platform displaying low-quality ones.
It has been in beta testing for about a month, but only a few users have had access to it, according to WABetaInfo. All iOS and Android WhatsApp users can now access it, though.
On an iOS device, users must tap the “+” symbol, choose “Documents”, and then “Choose photo or video” in order to send an original-quality image via WhatsApp.
Users of Android use the same approach. But instead of tapping on the “+” icon, they tap on the paperclip “attach” symbol.
The method’s file size limit is 2GB, set by the platform. According to MyBroadband’s testing, South African users of WhatsApp for iOS and Android seem to be able to access the feature.
In August 2023, the company owned by Meta Platforms began developing the feature for Android, and it also seems to have been made available to users in South Africa.
Users of WhatsApp were limited to sending images via the “Photo & Video Library” option, which significantly reduced the quality of the images in order to conserve data.
In August 2023, the platform added a “HD” option for images. It did, however, still somewhat compress images and had an upper limit on image quality.
With an update that included a number of new features, WhatsApp for iOS users could now send original-quality photos.
On iOS, users can now respond to status updates with their avatars and initiate group voice chats without ringing the entire group.
New chat bubbles were also added in the update, which helped users see missed, ongoing, and completed calls more easily.