WhatsApp tests image quality settings to help users send photos without over-compressing them

WhatsApp is reportedly working on a new feature that will allow users to send images without compressing them too much. The new feature is still under development and has not been enabled for beta test users. This is in addition to the video quality settings, which will also allow users to send videos to WhatsApp with minimal compression. Currently, WhatsApp doesn’t allow this and automatically compresses images and videos to match its capped limit. It comes as WhatsApp is reportedly preparing for public testing for one of its most anticipated features – support for multiple devices.

WABetaInfo tracking features reports this WhatsApp for Android beta v2.21.14.16 has been released and a little code search confirms that the instant messaging platform is working to allow users to share images in the best quality. Currently, the maximum file size permit on WhatsApp for all media – be it photos, videos or voicemail – is 16MB across all platforms. On most phones, this will equate to around 90 seconds to 3 minutes of video, according to WhatsApp.

This limit limit automatically forces the media to be compressed, while sending it to WhatsApp. The latest beta suggests that WhatsApp is working on a way to rectify this. It seeks to add an option in settings where users can enable better photo quality for sending images. The option will allow users to choose from three options – Auto, Best Quality, Data Saver.

The Auto option allows WhatsApp to detect which is the best compression algorithm for specific images. The best quality option will send the image using the best available quality. There is also a data saver option which significantly compresses the image in order to save the data.

There is no clarity on when this feature will be rolled out for beta testers as it is still under development. This means that users will not be able to see it even if they are on WhatsApp for Android Beta v2.21.14.16. As mentioned, WhatsApp is working on a similar setting option to send videos too.

Apart from that, WhatsApp is work on supporting multiple devices soon. The feature would soon be rolled out for public beta testing. This will allow users to log in with the same account on up to four devices simultaneously.

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