HD photos are coming to WhatsApp, and videos will be next

Photos will finally get the HD upgrade

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WhatsApp, one of the most popular messaging and voice/video applications in the world, announced that it’s rolling out the option to send photos in HD quality. And according to Meta, videos will receive the same treatment later down the line.

According to the announcement made through Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’sbroadcast channel on Instagram, “Sharing photos on WhatsApp just got an upgrade. Now you can send in HD.” The new feature will be rolled out worldwide over the next several weeks, with the option to send HD photos on Android, iOS, or the desktop version. Recipients will know it’s HD by the icon highlighted at the top of the screen.

Photos fromWABetaInfo(seen above) back when this feature was still in beta show how the formatting will look after it officially rolls out. When tapping the HD icon, two resolution options will appear: standard quality (1600 x 1052) and HD quality (4096 x 2692). And the HD images will still have the end-to-end encryption that WhatsApp is known for.

Recipients can choose between keeping standard quality photos or upgrading to HD quality, which is a relief for those on slower connections. And for those worried about storage space issues that could arise from too many HD photos sent, standard quality will remain the default for senders.

WhatsApp’s HD upgrade is late but still great

It’s almost shocking that with all the WhatsAppquality of life changes and updatesover the years, the option to send photos and eventually videos in HD is only coming to users now. Sending high-quality photos seems to be such a no-brainer in terms of enhancements, but it’s better late than never.

And this isn’t the first time that a company looked over such an obvious and oft-requested feature either. Back in April 2023, Discord announced that it would beraising the upload limit from 8MB to 25MB, which was in response to images and file sizes becoming larger over time.

And unlike many other applications, WhatsApp is a completely free-to-use service with zero paywalls for any of its features. So any updates it receives will be available to its over two billion user base. Features liketransferring chat logs,sending video messages, allowing the app toedit and add new contacts, and more.

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So hopefully we’ll be seeing more of these kinds of upgrades to sent content, keeping WhatsApp current with the quickly moving times.

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Named by the CTA as a CES 2023 Media Trailblazer, Allisa is a Computing Staff Writer who covers breaking news and rumors in the computing industry, as well as reviews, hands-on previews, featured articles, and the latest deals and trends. In her spare time you can find her chatting it up on her two podcasts, Megaten Marathon and Combo Chain, as well as playing any JRPGs she can get her hands on.

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