WhatsApp reportedly plans to let users send photos in original quality

WhatsApp could soon allow users to send photos at full quality without having to worry about image compression, if code discovered in the latest beta version of the Android app is anything to go by. WABetaInfo reports on a new option that would allow users to send images in their original quality.

Although WhatsApp already lets users pick between “automatic,” “best quality,” and “data saver,” the platform does not currently allow users to send photos in their original size and resolutions. Instead, these images are compressed — even when selecting “best quality” — to provide faster data transfers that take up less storage space.

According to WABetaInfo, the new feature is included in the WhatsApp beta for Android 2.23.2.11 but is under development and therefore not yet available to beta testers. WABetaInfo found the feature as a new “Photo quality” setting within the drawing tool header. Unlike the update that previously introduced adjustable quality configurations to WhatsApp users, there’s no mention if this new feature will also extend to videos sent on the platform. Otherwise, there’s still a workaround that lets users avoid WhatsApp compressing their content by changing the file’s extension to send it as a document rather than an image or video.

There’s currently no release timeline for the uncompressed image feature.