WhatsApp Now Lets You Send Photos and Video in Original Quality

WhatsApp is rolling out a new option that lets users on iPhone share photos and video over the messaging platform in their original quality.

Whatsapp Feature
As spotted by WABetaInfo, the official changelog included with WhatsApp's 23.24.73 update on the App Store says that users can now "easily send original quality media as a file."

The update follows a recent feature addition that lets WhatsApp users send media in high resolution or "HD quality." While that was an improvement that addressed the service's low quality media sharing limitation, it still involves compression.

whatsapp share media files
WhatsApp's latest feature avoids compression altogether by allowing photos and video to be shared as files, thereby preserving their original quality. WhatsApp's changelog adds that the new option is rolling out "over the coming weeks," so some users may not immediately see it on their device.

  1. Open an existing chat in WhatsApp or start a new one.
  2. Tap the + icon, left of the text input field.
  3. Tap Document ➝ Choose Photo or Video.
  4. Choose the media that you want to send, then confirm by tapping the blue arrow. Note the 2GB limit on the files that can be sent using the feature.

whatsapp

When the files are sent, previews of the media are not shown in the chat window, but the recipient can tap the files to view them. WhatsApp has also been testing the same feature for Android, although there isn't any further information about when it will become available.

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
iphone 17 air dummy unbox therapy

iPhone 17 Air's Extreme Thinness Demoed in New Video

Tuesday April 22, 2025 10:22 am PDT by
Apple plans to release an all-new super thin iPhone this year, debuting it alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We've seen pictures of dummy models, cases, and renders with the design, but Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy today showed off newer dummy models that give us a better idea of just how thin the "iPhone 17 Air" will be. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be ...
ipad air windows 11 arm

M2 iPad Air Runs Windows 11 ARM via Emulation, Thanks to EU Rules

Tuesday April 22, 2025 5:01 am PDT by
A developer has demonstrated Windows 11 ARM running on an M2 iPad Air using emulation, which has become much easier since the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulations came into effect. As spotted by Windows Latest, NTDev shared an instance of the emulation on social media and posted a video on YouTube (embedded below) demonstrating it in action. The achievement relies on new EU regulatory...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
iOS 18

iOS 18.5 Includes Only a Few Changes So Far

Monday April 21, 2025 11:00 am PDT by
Apple seeded the third beta of iOS 18.5 to developers today, and so far the software update includes only a few minor changes. The changes are in the Mail and Settings apps. In the Mail app, you can now easily turn off contact photos directly within the app, by tapping on the circle with three dots in the top-right corner. In the Settings app, AppleCare+ coverage information is more...
iphone 17 pro majin bu sky blue

iPhone 17 Pro Allegedly Coming in Sky Blue Color Used for MacBook Air

Tuesday April 22, 2025 4:08 am PDT by
Apple will unveil the iPhone 17 Pro in a new Sky Blue color, the same color that debuted on the latest M4 MacBook Air models Apple released in March. That's according to the leaker Majin Bu. Concept mockup from Majin Bu Writing on his website, Bu claims that "sources close to the supply chain confirm that several iPhone 17 Pro prototypes have been made in various colors, with Sky Blue...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 13 New Features

Wednesday April 23, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...

Top Rated Comments

Kylo83 Avatar
18 months ago
Yeah it’s been there for ages doing that it’s not new, not sure why they now put it in the release notes
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Populus Avatar
18 months ago
I wonder when we’ll be finally able to use usernames instead of our phone number… I don’t like to share my number with anyone I want to text with.

I know the feature is planned, but it seems it’s taking longer than expected.

I’d gladly use Telegram but here in my country few people use it.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
one more Avatar
18 months ago
This could already be done for a while, by choosing to send a Document > File and then attaching an original uncompressed photo or video.

How is this different?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
infinitedreams Avatar
18 months ago

Yeah it’s been there for ages doing that it’s not new, not sure why they now put it in the release notes
They've been too busy fixing a slowdown bug in the last 5 updates.



Attachment Image
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Seanm87 Avatar
18 months ago
Why don't they, I don't know, just share the original image like how it is on iMessage?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TechRemarker Avatar
18 months ago

Kind of a weird implementation. It's not obvious to choose "Documents" on an intuitive level. It should just be an option upon selecting photos/video.

Also, I really hope that someday they move the "typing" indicator to a more natural spot like other messenger apps. Meaning, at the bottom of the chat. The eye is already naturally down there.
Agreed. Though when sharing the normal photo method it strips all meta data using the document method includes meta data so they probably don’t want that the default. Would love it to work the normal way but just an option per contact on whether to include the meta data.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)