WhatsApp is working in a setting that allows users to more easily bypass its Effie image compression and send photos and videos at the highest available fidelity. The “best quality” option will probably join the “Auto” and “Data Saver” preferences in future versions of the app. It turns out that users end up preferring to compress photos and videos to save their data allowance, send the best available quality, or allow WhatsApp to automatically select the best level of compression for files.
An update submitted to the Google Play Beta program, identified by WABetaInfo, includes the settings in WhatsApp. The options will appear in the app’s universal Android build, though it’s not clear when they’re currently developing. Perhaps additional image quality options will also come to iOS, as WhatsApp typically retains the same features across both platforms. For those who don’t use the stock messaging app on iOS or Android and often don’t share photos and videos of their loved ones, this may come as welcome news (Apple messages often retain the value of the original image). Meanwhile, multi-device support is also on the way to WhatsApp.
The allowed file size for sending all media (photos, videos, or voice messages) or forwarding via WhatsApp is 16 MB on all platforms. On most phones, this will equate to about 90 seconds to 3 minutes of video. The maximum video duration will vary depending on the quality of your phone’s video camera. To send longer videos, you can record a low-resolution video outside of WhatsApp and use the media feature attached to a chat to send it to your contacts.
For status, you can share a video with a maximum duration of 30 seconds. At this time, it is not possible to share long videos in status. If you’re trying to send a video you’ve already received, you can use the Forward Media feature in a chat to forward videos via WhatsApp. For status, you can share a video with a maximum duration of 30 seconds. At this time, it is not possible to share long videos in status. If you’re trying to send a video you’ve already received, you can use the Forward Media feature in a chat to forward videos via WhatsApp.
