- WhatsApp currently reduces quality of photos sent by 70 per cent but working on ability to send high-resolution photos, leaks claims
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-resolution 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.
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 an option to adjust the photo quality when sending images.
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 have the option 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 tag on the message bubble.
As it stands, the new feature is limited to photos, and videos will still be compressed before being sent.
It is unclear when the new HD photo option will roll out to all users.
BEST WHATSAPP ALTERNATIVES
If you’re considering deleting WhatsApp, you’ll be happy to hear that there are several alternative apps to choose from:
1. Telegram
With more than 400 million users, Telegram is one of the most popular WhatsApp alternatives.
While it looks very similar to WhatsApp, what sets it apart is the fact that it gives the option to set messages to self-destruct after a given period of time, leaving no trace.
Telegram also offers end-to-end encryption.
However, as a WhatsApp spokesperson pointed out, Telegram ‘does not offer end-to-end encryption by default so it’s not necessarily more secure than WhatsApp’.
2. Signal
Signal is one of the most secure messaging apps, thanks to the fact that it is open-source.
This means that the code for the app is publicly available to view, making it near-impossible for the app’s creators to sneak in any backdoors that could allow governments or hackers to spy on your messages.
3. iMessage
If you use an iPhone, you may consider simply switching to iMessage, Apple’s own messaging app.
The app has a number of impressive features included no character limits, the ability to send pictures and videos, and of course Apple’s animated emoji feature, Animoji.
Unfortunately, iMessage is only available for iPhone users, so you’ll struggle to interact with anyone using an Android.
4. Google Messages
Google’s answer to iMessage is Google Messages, an Android-only messaging service.
The app replaces your standard SMS app, and integrates with all of Google’s apps and services, making it easy to share images or use Google Assistant.
5. Facebook Messenger
If you were put off using WhatsApp due to its sharing of data with Facebook, Facebook Messenger may not be the best option for you.
However, the app offers a number of helpful features, including games, secret conversations and video calls.
First published in Daily mail (UK)