[Update: Rolling out]WhatsApp may finally let you send photos without applying heavy compression

Update 1 (07/19/2021 @ 09:22 ET): The latest WhatsApp beta update brings support for the new photo upload quality feature. Scroll to the bottom for more information. The article as published on July 9, 2021, is preserved below.

WhatsApp is the most popular instant messaging app by far, but it’s not necessarily the best or the most feature-packed out there. Often you’ll find it lacking features that are quite common on other messaging apps such as Telegram. One such feature that WhatsApp users have been yearning for years is the ability to send uncompressed photos, a feature Telegram has offered for years. Right now, users have to resort to all kinds of workarounds to circumvent the heavy image compression, like sending photos as documents or creating Google Photos albums and then sharing links. But the latest WhatsApp update brings a ray of hope that it might finally allow people to send photos the way they like.

Folks over at WABetainfo report that the latest WhatsApp beta update is laying the foundation for allowing users to send photos without being ruined by heavy compression. WhatsApp is preparing to add three photo quality options:

• Auto (Recommended): This option will leave it to WhatsApp to decide whether or not to compress images depending on your network speed.
• Best quality: Selecting this option will ensure the best possible image quality. It’s unclear if WhatsApp will still apply some compression to images or if they will be sent in their original quality.
• Data Saver: Images will be compressed to save data and storage space.

WhatsApp is already working on similar options for video quality, so it makes sense to extend this to images as well, especially given how photo-sharing is one the most common ways to exchange information on the platform.

Do note that the ability to select photo quality is currently under development and not accessible to users on the latest version. It’s possible both video and image quality options would arrive at the same time. As always, these new features will most likely first arrive on the beta version before making their way to the stable release. To join the WhatsApp beta program, follow this link.

WhatsApp Messenger (Free, Google Play) →

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Update: Rolling out with the latest WhatsApp beta update

The latest WhatsApp beta update (v2.21.15.8 beta) brings support for the new image upload quality options. You can find the new options in Storage and data settings within the app. As you can see in the attached screenshot (via Android Police), you get three Photo upload quality options — Auto, Best quality, and Data saver.

Android Police notes that the difference between the previous data-saving compression and the new best quality option is minimal. The publication reveals that images transferred using the Best quality preset are only slightly better than those transferred using the Data saver pre. The size difference between the two is also minimal. Therefore, it would be best for you to set the Best quality preset as the default option, instead of the Data saver or Auto options.

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