Have you ever shared a photo in a WhatsApp chat and noticed that the application automatically compresses the image, significantly reducing its quality before sending it? To work around this issue, some people have started sending photos in a “document” format as WhatsApp does not compress documents to reduce their size. Another method is to create an album on Google Photos and share the link with the other party. These various methods ultimately enable sharing photos in their original quality on WhatsApp. However, the latest update to the app brings hope that users may finally be able to send high-quality images, similar to other messaging apps like Telegram.
Below are the steps to enable this feature, currently available in the Beta version for Android and will be released in the final version in the coming days.
As usual, any new feature for WhatsApp first arrives in the Beta version for testing and analyzing user feedback before being integrated into the final version. Therefore, if you want to try out the high-quality image sending feature now, you will need to install the latest WhatsApp Beta version on your Android phone. You can do this by visiting the WhatsApp Beta subscription page on the Google Play Store or downloading the latest available APK file and installing it to replace your current WhatsApp version without losing any data. It is recommended to download this file from a trusted source like APKMirror.
Read also: You can now use WhatsApp Web without an internet connection on your phone
After updating WhatsApp on your phone, click on the options ellipsis icon (⁝) in the top left corner and from the dropdown menu, click on “Settings” and then go to “Storage and data.”
Here, you’ll see a new option at the bottom of the page “Photo upload quality,” click on it to display a menu with 3 choices, each responsible for sending photos with different compression ratios. “Data Saver” compresses images significantly to save data when sending large-sized images, while “Best quality” ensures sharing images with the best possible quality without noticeable compression. “Auto” lets the app determine whether the image needs compression based on your internet speed.
Once you select the “Best Quality” option, WhatsApp will automatically send the photos to the other party in high quality. However, based on our experience, the app still applies some compression to the images and does not send them in their original quality, which is disappointing. We tested this feature by sending a 4K resolution photo in each of the three modes (Data Saver, Best Quality, Auto) and did not notice the expected difference. There is still some compression applied to the image even in the “Best Quality” mode, but it is definitely the best option compared to the other modes — where compression is more noticeable without even zooming in on the image.
If you are already a WhatsApp Beta user, update the app and try the new feature by sending a high-quality photo three times while changing the photo upload quality each time to see the difference for yourself. We do not know if the images are still compressed even in “Best Quality” mode because the feature is currently in the testing phase, or if this effect will change when the feature is added to the final version soon. If it remains the same, we recommend continuing to send photos as documents as it is the best solution for sharing images in their original quality with friends on WhatsApp.
