WhatsApp recently introduced an HD photo-sharing option for sharing photos, but it still involves some compression. If you need to share images in their original quality without any compression, here are the best methods.
Before we check zero compression options, let’s quickly understand how the WhatsApp HD sharing works.
Understanding WhatsApp’s HD Sharing
When you share a photo, you’ll see an “HD” icon at the top of the screen. Tapping it gives you the option to send in “Standard Quality” (1600 x 1052 pixels) or “HD Quality” (4096 x 2692 pixels). The recipient will see a label indicating that the photo is HD and has the option to download it in either HD or standard quality.
Note: If you would like to send HD quality by default, open WhatsApp and navigate to Settings. Tap on Storage and Data. Select HD quality as your default option.
Where Does HD Quality Fail?
Even with the HD option, WhatsApp still applies some compression to the image. For reference, here’s a comparison of file sizes with and without HD quality in our testing.
Photos
- Original file: Larger image in 6698 x 4465 resolutoin and file size around 3.1 MB.
- Without HD Quality: Resolution was 1280 x 853 and smaller file size around 140 KB.
- With HD Quality: Resolution was 4160 x 2773 and file size around 1.14 MB.
Videos
- Original file: Larger 4K file size (typically around 80 MB for a 10-sec video).
- Without HD Quality: Resolution was 480p and smaller file size around 1.95 MB for a 10-sec video.
- With HD Quality: Resolution was 720p and slightly more file size around 3.98 MB for a 10-sec video.
In both the cases, the WhatsApp HD Quality offers a significant improvement over the standard option. However, if you are a professional photographer, graphic designer, or paying for High quality photos, WhatsApp HD quality won’t be sufficient.
Share HQ Images on WhatsApp Without Any Compression
If you need to send a video in its original quality without any compression, here are few options you can try.
1. Send it as a Document
- This is the most reliable way to share uncompressed images.
- The maximum file size for both photos and videos sent as documents on WhatsApp is 2GB.
- On WhatsApp, tap the attachment icon (paperclip) and select Document instead of Gallery.
- Navigate to your image file and send it as a document.
- The recipient can download and view it as the full-quality image.
Limitations: Even this comes with certain limitation, such as sender requires extra steps to view the photo compared to simply selecting it from the chat or gallery. Also, sender and recipient(s) won’t see a preview of the image in the chat. And if you send multiple documents, it might be harder for the recipient to organize and locate the files.
2. Use a Cloud Storage Service:
- Use this if convenience and quick viewing are priorities.
- Upload your images to a cloud storage service like Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive.
- Share the link to the image on WhatsApp.
- The recipient can download the full-quality image from the cloud.
Limitations: Free versions often have limitations on file size and storage duration (typically 15GB). Even with this option, sender and receiver can’t see the preview the files in WhatsApp. However, you can get the preview in cloud storage service. If the file size is more than 10-20 GB, then you might have to pay for it.
Alternately, apps like Send Anywhere allow sending uncompressed images quickly over Wi-Fi network, provided the sender and receiver are closeby.
